Tag Archive: NaBloPoMo

The Isaacs again

Ok…maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, or maybe it’s just that I’m a big cheese-ball, but here’s another song by The Isaacs called “Barbie Bandaids”.  If you’re a mom(or a dad) or if you’re somebody’s little girl, you’ll probably like this song(or roll your eyes and think I’m nuts…that’s ok, too).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyfNKk97f-o]

Mystery Singers Identified

Remember on Tuesday I posted about a version of “The Star Spangled Banner” that I thought was just beautiful, but I couldn’t figure out who it was.  All I knew was that a girl started out singing a capella, followed by some beautiful harmonies.  Well, I found it!!  It’s a group called “The Isaacs”.  They’re a predominantly Southern Gospel band (which isn’t usually so much my thing), but I was blown away by the studio version. Unfortunately, I could only find a live youtube video to share on this website. It’s not quite as “polished” as what you would hear on the radio, nor is the sound quality as good as what you’d hear on a real recording, but here it is none-the-less.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kSBFLiv9_4]

If you’re interested in hearing a better recording, you’ll have to sign up for a free music share website called imeem.com. The link for the song through imeem is here.

Seriously.

Ok…so I love Grey’s Anatomy.  Love it.  Even when it’s not at its best, it’s better than a lot of other crap on TV.  I love Mer’s dark side.  I relate to her in a lot of ways, but I’m not nearly as morose as she is.  I love the on-again-off-again, will-they-won’t-they of Mer-Der.  I love Christina’s sarcasim.  I used to love Izzy(before she got all weird and crazy).  I have a love-hate relationship with Alex.  And dear, dear George will always hold a special place in my heart. 

BUT what I don’t like(or understand, really) is where the writers come up with some of their ideas.  Seriously?  Is Izzy dead now?  Surely they’re not reviving Denny from the dead?  He’s dead.  Really dead.  We even saw him in Mer’s dead dream.  I know that Grey’s is technically a soap opera, but this story line is getting too soap opera-y for me.

And…interns practicing on interns?  Sure.  It’s been done before.  But not like this.  Do interns routinely steal corpses like they did last week?  No.  Do they cut themselves just so the other interns can practice suturing?  Um…not in Georgia they don’t.  And I don’t know any intern that would let other interns do an appendectomy on them!  Once again, I know it’s just TV.  But there has to be some level of reality, right?  Maybe they should just be putting in NG tubes.  I do remember Marshall practicing that! And the pig stunt from last week wasn’t SO far off, I guess. In med school, they practiced suturing on a pig’s ear.

So, I guess what I’m saying is that reality loses to good TV.  And I’m ok with that.  Just don’t ask me if that’s what life is really like as a resident.  It’s not.  Well, maybe all the sex.  No, seriously…there’s lots of drama in a hospital setting, and more sex than you (or I) would probably like to know about.

Thank you, heros!

Now I know that Veteran’s Day is almost over.  I kept meaning to post all day long, but the kids and I just had so much playing that needed to be done…

What I wanted to post was a link to a version of the National Anthem that I heard on the radio.  It’s some country group with amazing sound and harmonies singing a capella.  I’ve tried and tried to find out who they are, all to no avail.  It starts out with just a woman singing, and then the guys join her.  I even called the radio station when I heard them playing it, but the ding-a-ling I spoke to on the phone was about as helpful as a goat.  Anyway, point being…if you know who or what I’m talking about PLEASE let me know who they are.

I hate that I don’t have that song ready for you to hear.  You all know the words(I hope…please tell me you do!), and you all know what it means.  You hear it at ball games and concerts and all kinds of places.  We hear it often enough that it has become almost common place to just sing along without thinking about the words…or to just zone out completely.  But whenever I hear or sing “The Star Spangled Banner”, I am almost always brought to tears.  See, I am a very patriotic person, plus music moves me in ways that I can’t explain.  When I hear the first few notes of our National Anthem, I feel nothing but pride.  I’m not always proud of the choices our country makes, or of the way we are perceived(sometimes rightfully so) by other countries…but I am always proud to be an American. 

So before I go to bed tonight, I want to say a big THANK YOU to all who have served our country-past and present-so that we can all have the freedoms we enjoy today.  And I want to write out the words of the National Anthem.  I’m not going to cut and paste them.  And I’m asking you to not skim over them.  Imagine what must have been going through Francis Scott Key’s mind as he wrote these words.  As an officer in the Continental Army, Key had attended a meeting with British officials to discuss the release of a POW. After the meeting, he and his companions were allowed to go back to their own small ships, but were not able to go be with the other men in battle. Close enough to see, but not to help…all they could do was to sit and watch. All night long he saw “the rocket’s red glare” and “bombs bursting in air” of the Baltimore sky.  Surely, he thought, the British have won.  But as the sun began to rise and the smoke began to clear, Key was stunned to see an American flag-torn and tattered though it must have been-still flying.  So moved by the sight, he grabbed a letter that was in his pocket and began to jot down phrases that would eventually come together to be our national anthem.  Here are the first two verses:

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which th breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam or the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

A day of numbers

Ok…so I promised a brilliant post.  This probably won’t be nearly as exciting for all of you as it was for me, but here is a run down of my day in a way I’ve never thought about it before: numerically.

120/80-my blood pressure at the doctor’s office!!
1-flu shot I got today. Don’t forget to get one for yourself. They’re important!
0-times I listened to Raffi, or any other “kid” music today.
33-people on my christmas gift list this year.
3-number of gifts i need to buy to complete my christmas list. (Go ahead…be jealous! I’m awesome!)
4-hours of “me” time today. (Thanks, Marshall…you’re awesome!)
1.91-the price I paid for gas today. Woo-hoo!
8-the maximum number of weeks before we meet the newest Ivey.
11:30-the time I hope to be in the bed. Goodnight, all!

I almost forgot to blog today!

Weekday blogging is fairly easy.  The kids and I have a routine of sorts that we follow, and there’s always a bit of “screen time” for all of us in there somewhere.  They usually watch Diego or The Backyardigans while I steal away a bit of time for myself at the computer.

But the weekends are a different story!  We always have something going on around here on the weekends.  Like I mentioned before, my friends from Augsuta came for an overnight stay on Friday night.  We had planned to all go to Christmas in the South on Saturday morning.  But Jesse woke up sick(hope you’re feeling better, Jess!), and so we had to go without her.  Once we got there it was so incredibly crowded that I was going a little nuts.  It didn’t help matters much that the kids were not wanting to cooperate.  I guess they were going a little nuts, too, come to think of it!  🙂  Anyway, after all the craftiness of the morning(or lack thereof), I was dying to craft something on my own.  That’s when I asked for your suggestions.  (Thank you to those who left ideas.  Some of those are now in my “to do” pile.  Next time I go “to town” I’ll have to get supplies.  I’m still having to get used to NOT being close to a Joann’s or Michael’s!)

So last night, I looked online for all kinds of ideas.  I came up with a few fun things, but I was missing at least one thing for each craft.  So I went to take a nice, warm bath…and realized that there was something wrong with the water pressure.  It took FOREVER for the tub to fill!  Well, come to find out…I apparently should have conserved that water.  Our town had a massive water main leak/break, and has left us nearly dry.  We still have some water, but not much.  Since we’d had friends over on Friday and Saturday, I hadn’t done the dishes or laundry like I normally would.  So now we’re stuck with a bunch of dirty clothes and dishes, but no water with which to wash them.  I also heard that if they don’t get things fixed tonight, they’ll be cancelling school.  No water = no school.  So I’ve spent most of my night trying to figure out what to do with the kiddos if school is cancelled tomorrow.  I have a doctor’s appointment, and I really don’t want to take them with me!  Not that I haven’t done it before…but it surely wouldn’t do my blood pressure any favors! 🙂

So…point being…in all the chaos, I almost forgot to blog.  Thanks, Marsh, for keeping me on track.  (He brought the laptop to me in bed…wasn’t that sweet?)

Oh!  I almost forgot(is there a theme here…me forgetting things?) that in all my online craft searches, I found a nifty little new-to-me website that I’m lovin’: TipNut.com.  They have ideas and tips for all kinds of things.  Go have a look around, and if you don’t find something interesting or just plain cool…then you’re a loser.  They have tips about everything from how to make a oh-so-soft bath mat from old towels to a handy little list of substitutes you can use while baking to 12 rules of etiquette for children. I loved the craft section and the DIY projects list.  I’m telling you-they have it all!  So if you want to make a craft, bake a cake, build a headboard for your bed, or learn how to make house cleaners…go check ’em out!

And then come back here tomorrow, and I promise to have a brilliant post(much better than the last few)!  🙂

**Update:  I just saw on the news that the pipe has been fixed, but it will take about 24 hours to get the water pressure back to where is should be.  Schools and business will be open(yay!), but the schools will be giving out sack lunches.**

Please tell me its just pregnancy brain…

It’s no secret to you guys that I love to craft.  I like finding or coming up with the idea.  I like buying the stuff.  I like making the stuff.  And I usually like giving the stuff away. 

But lately I’ve been in a crafting funk.  I’ve made a few things.  I’ve started actually making some things. I came up with a long time ago(like the personalized clock).  I’ve even done a few “new” things.  But the old ideas are boring me, and I can’t seem to come up with anything new to do.

Point being…I’m kind of bummed about the brain blitz I have going on.  I thought going to the arts and crafts show would help.  But…the kids weren’t conducive to good looking and it was WAY TOO crowded to really enjoy myself.

So….I’m asking for your help, my lovely loyal readers.  What are some of your favorite crafts-that you’ve made or received.  Do you have any ideas that you’ve thought of, but don’t want to try?  I’ll be willing to try it for you!  🙂  Please leave me some ideas in the comments section or send me a quick e-mail.  I’ll love you forever if you get me outta this funk!

Banana Bread

My Augusta friends are coming tonight!  YAY!  Tomorrow we’re heading off to an arts and crafts festival(love ’em!).  We’re belatedly celebrating a birthday tonight, but they’re already had cake a time or two.  So I thought I’d make banana nut bread instead.  Jesse doesn’t like nuts in her food, so you’ll see that there are several ways to make it- with or without your choice of goodies. 

This is a recipe I made up on my own.  Although those types of recipes usually tend to be the tastiest, I’m usually not creative or patient enough to find what really works. But, without being too conceited, I think this is the best banana bread recipe out there!  Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Ingredients: 3-4 ripe(read: almost black and ready to head to the garbage) bananas, 1 good splash(about 1 tsp) of vanilla extract, 1 -1/2 self rising flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/3 cup melted butter.  Here are all the optional “goodies” I’ve added: 1/2 cup chopped nuts(pecan, walnut, cashews…although the cashews tend to be a little chewy when baked), 1/2 cup cranberries, a handful or two of chocolate chips, you can really put most anything in here!

Directions: Preheat oven to 350.  Mash bananas.  (I have a potato masher, but you can easily use a fork or your hands.)  Add sugar, egg, and vanilla flavoring.  Mix.  Add flour and mix well.  Add melted butter, and whichever optional goodies you want.  (It’s pretty common for me to add nuts, cranberries and chocolate chips.  But remember the more stuff you add, the longer it’s going to take to cook.  So don’t add a full 1/2 cup of each one or you’ll have a gooey center when you’re done!)  Pour into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 50-60 mins. 

Happy baking!

Easy Personalized Clock

I orginally planned on showing how to make a Photo Clock like you can order from Snapfish and Walmart and Walgreens for about $20, but I didn’t have a photo on hand.   So…I decided that the kids could draw a picture instead!  🙂  The whole project took about an hour from beginning to end, but that did include the 20 minutes or so my kids took coloring.

So…you only need a few things: pen, scissors, a large(12×12) sheet of paper, a large photo(based on the size of your clock, you may need an 8×10 or 11×14), a tiny screw driver, and a clock.  I grabbed a cheap $4 wall clock from Walgreens today(like the one shown below), but you could use any one that has screws on the back…some of the really cheap ones are glued together.

wall-clock01

I’m going to give you a ton of pictures and a ton of directions…it’s really idiot-proof though.  I’m just trying to be really specific.

To start, unscrew all the little screws on the back in order to take the glass front off.  Be sure to set the face of the clock on something semi-soft so that it won’t get scratched.

wall-clock-02

Next is probably the hardest part:  You’ll have to take off the second, minute and hour hands.  For most clocks, you just have to pull on the second hand and pop it off.  Once you get it off, it’s really easy to get the other two.  When you’re pulling, you may think that you’re going to break it…you won’t…probably.  If you do break it, you’ve only lost four bucks!

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Once you get all the hands off, it will look like this:

wall-clock-05

Next you’ll want to turn the clock over and carefully trace the edge of the clock on your 12×12 paper.  I say be careful because you’ll have the little center part sticking out.  If you break it, you’ve broken the clock.  So don’t break it!

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Once you have it traced out, you will cut out the circle.  Remember that you’ll also want to trim a little bit off from what you traced because the inside of the clock is smaller than the outside.  It’s always better to make it too big than too small though…you can keep trimming it until it fits perfectly.

Once it’s all cut out and looks like it’s going to fit, you’ll turn the clock back over.  Center the circle over the clock and gently push down on the center post.  You probably won’t be able to push hard enough to puncture the paper without breaking the post.  So just make an indentation that you can punch out later.

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I then used my little screwdriver I had on hand to make a hole where the indendation was, and make it all smooth.

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Now you’re to the fun part!  Since I didn’t have a picture, I let the kids color on the white circle I had cut out.  If you were using a photo, you would take the circle and use it as a template for cutting your photo into a circle.  But remember to take note of where the clock hands will be once you place your picture in the clock.  You probably don’t want the hour hand sprouting out of Uncle Bob’s nose, or even worse…someone’s crotch!  (Or maybe you do…because really, that’s funny!) 

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You’re getting close now!  Take your photo or artwork and glue or tape it onto the clock face.  I like to use double sided tape, but you could use whatever you have available.

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Then you’ll need to put the hands back on(usually in the hour, minute, second order).  Make sure that they are all flat.  If they got bent when you were trying to get them off, they won’t run smoothly.  But you can easily straighten them back out.

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Now just screw the clock back together…

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And you’re done!  Congrats!

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This will be a super fun gift to give my Papa.  I’m always trying to find something my kids can make for him, but that he can actually use, too.  I still plan on making a photo one for myself.  Once I do it, I’ll post that picture, too, so that you can see what it looks like!

I barely made the deadline for Nov 6th, but I’m still hanging in there!  You promise to keep on reading, and I’ll promise to keep on posting!

Wordless Wednesday(sorry to all my facebook friends for the repeat picture)

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