I'd like to introduce you to someone...

Have you met Tyrone Wells? Do you know him?

I first met him when he performed this song, Fly, at our church about 5 years ago. I sat there with tears streaming down my face, thinking of my friend Donna, who was dying of cancer at the time. For me, Fly is similar to The Dance by Garth Brooks on the Blubbering Like An Idiot Scale....

I can't find a video for this, but click to hear the song.

• Fly by Tyrone Wells

When church was over, we immediately purchased one of his CDs and we wore that sucker out!

We've paid to see him ever since.

Last weekend I was thrilled to learn that he'd be playing at church again this weekend. This particular song is the theme song for A&E's Intervention and was in the credits for My Sister's Keeper. It's called More.


Tyrone? More please.

Never walk into a hardware store and say, "Hi. I'm looking for some caulk."

Have you ever picked at a tiny piece of wallpaper that was peeling up and before you knew what was happening, you had peeled the whole room? Or on a smaller scale, chipped and peeled of your nail polish? (Very bad for your nails, by the way....)

I was at the kitchen sink and I was suddenly really bothered by part of the caulked seal that was turning black (ew!) and was separating from the sink and the granite.

You could see where the water had gotten in and was lifting the seal.
It happens. When it does, it's a simple fix.

Sure, I could ask Handsome Hubby to do it, but his Honey-Do List is already a mile long. The man works his cute behind off all day and I'd really rather not bother him with things I could do myself. (I'd rather give him tasks that involve electricity, heavy lifting or spiders...)

The first thing you need to do is remove the existing caulking. Take a utility knife and slit under and over the edge of the caulk. You can also use a small paring knife if you're too lazy to walk out to the garage and look for one.

The old caulk should peel right on out. Keep at it until you get every little bit.

Once it's out, clean and thoroughly dry the area.

There are the ginormous tubes you can get that go into that caulking gun, but personally I hate them. They're unwieldy and the goo keeps dribbling out even after I let go of the trigger.

I like these little tubes. They're easy to work with. Be sure to use one specifically designed for kitchens or baths.

Snip off the end of the tube at an angle and start laying a bead of the caulk along the area.
Don't try to be all prissy and perfect about it. The goal is to fill the crack with the goo.
Once you have applied a nice generous line of the caulk ...
Get the tip of your finger wet and run it along the entire line. You will come up with a big blob of the goo on your finger. Wipe it off on a paper towel, get your finger wet and do it again.

After a swipe or two, it will look like this:
Messy and not good enough. Continue to get your finger wet, run it over the caulking, wipe it on a paper towel and repeat. Do one entire length of the sink at a time.

You're done when it looks like this: A nice clean edge, made completely with a wet fingertip.
You'll need to let it dry for several hours, so keep the kids away. Drying time aside, this whole endeavor took me about 20 minutes. And that included looking for the tube of caulk out in the garage.

Sleep-overs.

I'm going to spend the night at my best friend's house tonight. She moved to a new house earlier this week and I'm going out there today to help her organize and set up her home office tonight and tomorrow.

It got me thinking about the differences between sleep-overs we had in junior high and high school, and well, now.

Then:
We'd pilfer booze from our parents' liquor cabinets.
Now:
Our parents drink with us.

Then:
We'd add water to the bottles to disguise the sips we'd been taking.
Now:
a) realize they wouldn't have noticed the lowering levels but would have noticed the watered down taste; and, b) we will string our kids up by their toes if they ruin perfectly good booze by adding water.

Then:
We thought straight Creme de Menthe was sooooo yummy.
Now:
No thank you for that green crap.

Then:
We would stay up all night talking.
Now:
We can barely make it to midnight on New Year's Eve.

Then:
We'd weigh the pros and cons of sneaking out/staying out past curfew etc., then do it anyways.
Now:
We err on the side of caution.

Then:
We'd eat a ton of crappy junk food and worry about our fat thighs.
Now:
We eat a ton of crappy junk food and worry about our fat thighs, high cholesterol, heart health and digestive tracts.

It's nice that no matter how much time passes, there are friends who keep the same pace.

Some Christmas decor works for Valentine's Day.

Decor that can do double (or even triple duty) is a great thing. I don't like the phrase "think outside the box" but sometimes it is the right phrase.

I got these cute little conical "trees" at Target's after Christmas clearance sale. They are a beautiful silver-white frosted glass. All three came to a total of $9.

I snapped them up immediately, not only because I already know I'm doing a white and silver color scheme next Christmas, but because I knew I could use these trees for Valentine's Day by adding pink ribbon.


With all these boys in the house, any decor that allows me to use pink should be on display as long as possible.

Do you have a Gift Closet?

Now is the time to start one!

Your Gift Closet can be a shelf, a drawer, a Rubbermaid bin or a box under your bed. By planning ahead you can save time, money and energy. (And who doesn't need more of those things!?)

Thanks to my Gift Closet and my "shop all year" philosophy, my Christmas shopping was completely finished by the first week of December, I didn't break the bank doing it, and nothing went on a credit card.

Just start one and try to take advantage of good deals.

Kohl's still has Christmas decor and it's 90% off. Retail for these things would have been $234, but just check out what I got for $22:

The little seashell ornament was 59 cents and it'll be used with my summer decor. (I'll put it in a bowl or apothecary jar filled with shells and pebbles.)

The CDs were 79 cents each and I will listen to them next December while I am spray painting the metal reindeer ($3.99) white and covering him with glitter.

The pine cone ornaments were 49 cents each and will go on next year's tree.

That stuff sounds like it's all for me and what does any of that have to do with my Gift Closet?
Nothing, I just love a Plan Ahead For Next Christmas Good Deal.

These are the things going into the Gift Closet:
The little silver "HOPE" blocks are going to be tucked into cookie baskets. ($1.50 each)
The cranberry scented reed diffusers were $2 a piece and will be great holiday gifts.
The little frame out of antlers was 39 cents. (How cute will it be with a kid or grand kid's photo in there and tied onto a Father's Day gift?)
The rhinestone R and E can be tied onto a gift bag or wrapped present as a gorgeous (but inexpensive: 60 cents) embellishment.

There are always great deals on After-Christmas items that you can give as gifts for next Christmas, but always be on the look-out for things that don't look Christmas-y. Candles, frames, vases, linens, etc. I've been able to snap up $45 Bath & Body Works gift sets for $4 in March and April. I have them on hand for all kinds of occasions.

Does it mean that I care about my gift recipients less because I paid less for their gifts?
Of course not! In fact, I think it means I love my recipients more, because with a bit of planning and a watchful eye, I can give them more.

If you are out and about and see the perfect gift for a specific person (at a great price), get it. Right then and there. Buy it. Make yourself a note somewhere. I keep an email going in my "Drafts" folder. I'm not ever going to send it anywhere, but I have "Gift Closet" in the subject line and it serves as an inventory of my Gift Closet. I make notes about specific gifts for specific people. If I have purchased multiple quantities of the same item, I make myself notes as to who I have given one to, and how many I have left. (You don't want to give anyone the same gift twice!)

A taboo subject: Re-gifting.
I'll admit it, I've done it. (And if you're being honest, you'll admit it too.)

Something too big or too small, (once I was allergic to an ingredient in a delicious bath set) or for whatever reason, we will not be able to enjoy the gift. Personally, I think it is a shame to have a gift sit unappreciated and unused. I would rather pass it on to someone who I know will enjoy it. Therefore, on a few occasions a gift I have received makes its way to the Gift Closet. Go ahead. Report me to the Gift Police.

If you're going to re-gift, do it properly and discretely. I tie a big note onto the item marking who gave the gift to me. I also list the gift on my draft email list and I change the text to red.

One of my re-gifting criteria is that I will not re-gift to anyone who even knows the original gift giver. Another is that if the person who gave it to me assigned any sentimental value to it, I keep it. (Even if it makes me break out in hives.)

Picture frames, candles, good deals on ribbons and wrapping... Whatever you find yourself paying retail for at the last minute, try shopping before you need it. You'll be so happy you did. Being judicious with your time, money and energy is a great gift to give yourself.

Trust me.

Karen? Yer doin' it wrong. (The scoop on orchids.)

I posted the other day about things I can't live without as far as my craft closet goes. At the very end, I mentioned how much I love orchids and how easy they are to keep.

Karen of the No-Reply, No Blog Tribe left me this comment:

"Orchids are expensive and very hard to grow!! In fact, some are almost impossible to keep alive, much less bring into bloom—even for professional growers. But there are dozens of varieties of orchids, and hundreds of hybrids, that are perfectly happy growing on a sunny windowsill or under lights."

All I can say is this:
Karen? You are mistaken. You are certainly contradictory and confused.

First of all, they are not expensive. You can get a good sized, healthy orchid for less than $20 at most grocery stores. (Personally, I think Trader Joe's is the best place as far as selection and price.)

Blooms on orchids can last for months. So let's do the math: Let's figure our orchid has gorgeous blooms for two months. Let's pretend we didn't shop around and we paid full boat ($20) for it. Divide $20 by 60 days. That's about 30 cents a day to have fresh flowers in your home.

Does that seem expensive to you, Karen? I think it's a pretty good deal.

Additionally, when the blooms are finally spent, you can take a good quality silk orchid and stick it into the remaining (healthy) foliage and it will still look like you have beautiful live orchids because you've combined a real plant with a high quality faux flower.

My favorites are the phalaenopsis orchids in small spaces,




and the cymbidium orchid for bigger places.


Karen suggested orchids are hard to grow. I would argue that they're hard to kill.

Through the end of August, almost to Halloween, I had a gorgeous rust/orange colored cymbidium orchid on the buffet in my dining room. When the blooms were finally spent, I opted to toss the orchid onto the back patio, rather than put a faux orchid in the remaining foliage.

Why? Because I was in full fall decor mode and the orchid wasn't in my plans for that spot

The orchid that had been unceremoniously dumped on the patio? It was completely neglected and ignored for two and a half months (during winter) and was, in fact, knocked over and laying on its side when I discovered this:



That's right. With no care from me and no worries about light, watering, feeding or temperature, this orchid decided to shoot up another bloom.

Hard to care for, my butt!



So, I took the orchid and put it into an urn. I shoved wadded up plastic grocery bags around the little plastic pot the orchid was in to stabilize the plant.

I took 3 sticks from my front yard that had blown off the trees during these storms. I shoved them into the orchid. (Note: I think odd numbers work best when working with floral arrangements) I tied the bloom to one of the sticks to help support it as it grows. Orchids are top heavy and usually need a little support.

Next, I covered the tacky looking grocery bags with sheet moss (again, something everyone should keep on hand.)

Once the sheet moss was tucked into the top of the urn, I tossed it onto a dresser.


Karen? Go buy an orchid and try, try again.

Here's an example of a phalaenopsis orchid that lost its blooms. It's been sitting like this for months in one of my bathrooms. (Shameful, I know.)

I clipped off the dead flower stem and added a mediocre quality faux orchid.
Is this one perfect? No. But it's going to sit on the top of a toilet tank for a while, so it's hardly in a place of honor anyway. I just wanted to give a quick (although mediocre) example of what I'm talking about.

My point is this: you can tuck an orchid into pretty much any container and place that container almost anywhere in your house and it's going to do well.

Another point? Don't be afraid to try new things. (And don't listen to Karen. )

This cake WOULD HAVE been soooo good.

It's been raining here. A lot.
(photo credit: Sandor X. Mayuga)
This isn't my neighborhood, but it's pretty representative of my little corner of the world.
Stormy weather brings out my inner baker.

According to the recipe, the cake I baked is called Sock It To Me Cake but I am going to re-name it Suck It To Me Cake.

I started to make this last night around 5:00, and by started to make it, I mean I pre-heated the oven to 350 and poured the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl.

What's next? Add 4 eggs and the sour cream....
But wait! First one of my kids needs to have a big meltdown, there needs to be some disciplinary issues, dad needs to be called at work, drama needs to happen and an hour needs to roll on by.

OK, where was I? That's right, add 4 eggs... Egg #1 - crack, open, drop into mixing bowl... Egg #2 - crack, open, drop into mixing bowl...

Egg #3? It'll have to wait while another kid comes to talk to me about his take on the disciplinary actions taken regarding the Meltdown Kid.

What started out as meddling and interference turned into a very productive discussion about responsibility, parenting, big picture versus the little picture and making good choices. It was a good talk and I'm glad we had it.

Now it is 6:45. Back to the cake. Crack eggs #3 and #4 and add them to the mixing bowl. Prepare to add remaining ingredients.

Ring, ring. Important phone call from best friend (AKA the Phone Tag Queen). I take the call.

The cake goes into the oven at 8:00. It smells divine. It's cold outside, but toasty warm in the house (due in part to an empty oven heated to 350 for 3 hours, I'm sure) and life has settled down.

The cake comes out of the oven beautifully. It cools. It sticks to the bundt pan. Handsome Hubby gets it out for me. He turns it out onto a plate and I plan to frost it later, as I've already been baking the damn thing for more than 4 hours.

This morning the kids oooh and aaahhh over the cake.
"After school snack mom?!"
"You bet, guys!"

I drive the kids to school. I'm gone 20 minutes, round trip.
I walk in the door and head for the kitchen.
This is what greets me:

I forgot about the bad dog who keeps eating baked goods. She was in the living room in front of the fireplace because it's pouring outside.

Bitch. (ha ha! Cuz she's a she... get it..? Never mind.)

I cleaned up the mess and made a mental note to check eBay to replace my plate (because I've had these for 20 years and LOVE them).

I'm going to finish this post and then take another whack at baking this F#$!*% cake.

For more tales of woe and frustration, click over to Living in France.

Are you the prayin' kind?

Yeah?
Would you mind keeping this little guy in your prayers?

His name is Walker Jack Rainey, and I've never met him or his parents, Missy & Chad. A few months ago I got a forwarded email asking to pray for this 11 month old baby boy. I clicked on this link to see what was going on with this cutie pie.

He has cancer.

An incredibly rare, malignant Rhabdoid Tumor. I believe Walker's tumor is in his kidneys, but regardless of location, all rhabdoid tumors are highly aggressive, have a poor prognosis, and tend to occur in children less than two years of age.

This baby is the best dispositioned, most bubbly little chemo patient I have ever heard of. Check him out here:



I couldn't imagine the worry and strain his parents must be under. I can't even let my mind go there. However, his parents have laid their troubles at the feet of the Lord. They are cheerful and hopeful. They are worried but trusting. They are not bitter, but rather are focusing on listening for God's quiet voice.

I've had a little crisis of faith over the last year. (As a life-long Christian, that's very strange for me.) But in the midst of the Rainey's ordeal, they are actually reminding me that I have much to be thankful for. That I should never take anyone or their health for granted. That no matter what happens in my life, that God has a plan and I need to look to Him and trust.

I forget that a lot.

Is it magic celery?

You know how there are some items that are common in some people's kitchens, but for whatever reason, it just isn't common in yours?

Celery is one of those things at my house. I buy it if I'm making stuffing or Bloody Marys. That's about it.

This celery?

I bought it in mid November for my Thanksgiving stuffing. This is what it looked yesterday, in mid January.

You know why it is still fresh, green and crisp after 2 months in my fridge?
Because I stored it tightly wrapped in foil.

I have had celery for 6 months that still looked (and tasted) like it had just come off the produce stand. For whatever reason, wrapping it in foil keeps it fresh for a long, long, long, long time.
Cool, huh?

Pin It

What's next? Evil flying monkeys?

Living in the Los Angeles area, there's lots of things I expect.
Smog.
Spotting celebrities at Starbucks.
Violence.
Traffic.
Ridiculous housing prices.
Car chases.

You know what I don't expect?
Tornadoes.

An earthquake I am prepared for. A tornado? I don't have an interior room with no windows.

Basements? We ain't got no stinkin' basements!
I'm skeeeerd.

Good friends to have around....

After school yesterday afternoon, I asked Grant how his day was.

"It was great! Charlie and Douch (rhymes with couch) went to school with me!"
"Who are Charlie and Douch?"
"My hands, of course!"

Of course.

That kid is so odd. He's been walking around, treating his hands like they're little puppets and wants us to pretend they're separate beings. Brings new meaning to "talk to the hand."

Winter blahs.

I'm tired.
I'm cranky.
I'm hungry.
I feel fat.
I screwed up my knee and can't work out.
I can't find anything in my closet that looks good and/or fits.
I desperately need a haircut and my stylist left the salon.

I'm going to eat a handful of M&Ms and go back to bed.

What's for dinner? Bargain groceries, of course.

Do you have one of these?


No?

Then you're wasting money.... or at least not stretching it as far as it can go.

Handsome Hubby got this FoodSaver vacuum sealer for me a few years ago. I was not especially thrilled.

Stupid me.

This thing is fantastic. You can seal up almost anything in it, but I use it primarily for meats.

Because of this contraption, I am able to take advantage of great sales.... even the "clearance" section in the meat department.

When meats have those beautiful "50% off" stickers on them, it's because the "sell by" date has arrived, or is about to. Sell by is not the same as use by. When something was already on sale, but then needs to go on clearance because of the date, that's when you can get amazing cuts of meat for pennies on the dollar. But the only way to really take advantage of this is to freeze it properly.

Freezer burn? No thanks for that.

Salmon, chicken breasts, steaks, spare ribs, pork loins, etc... they're all in my freezer, perfectly fresh and ready to be cooked. I'm the only person I know (IRL) who has cooked pistachio crusted rack of lamb for the same cost as a frozen pizza. (I'm sure there are brilliant bloggers out there who have done something similar.)

I boast about this to make a point: I wouldn't be able to do this if I couldn't buy good cuts of meat at rock bottom prices and then properly freeze and store them.

My sealer came from Bed,Bath & Beyond. They're in the $150 range. Get yourself one of those 20% off BB&B coupons and pick one up. Drop a little money now to save a lot of money later.

I'm just sayin'.

Craft Closet Staples

So the other day, I put in my two cents about what you should always have in your kitchen.
(For the record, I do realize two cents doesn't go as far as it used to.....)

Today, I give you two more cents. (Together, this makes almost a nickel's worth of advice! Whatta deal!)

Here are things that my craft-closet is never without:

Glue gun & glue sticks (duh.)

 

Double stick tape

 

A good adhesive

Mod Podge

 

black & white acrylic paint

   

(and of course a variety of paint brushes...)

white/opalescent glitter (fine)

 

 Black, Heirloom White, silver & gold metallic spray paints

 

sheet moss

 

floral pinsand floral picks

wet foam blocks (oasis)

dry foam blocks

 

X-acto knife

needle nose pliers

 

wire cutters

 

pruning clippers

 

medium gauge wire (floral or otherwise)

flexible sanding sponges

 

chicken wire (just a little bit, for floral arrangements)

 

cardstock (black & white)

white ribbon and black ribbon - both grosgrain and organdy (sheer)

Something else I always have? An orchid or two.

 

I put them in a variety of containers and then top it off with the aforementioned sheet moss.

They are cheap, nearly impossible to kill, and when the long-lasting blooms are finally spent, a high quality silk orchid stem stuck into a live plant makes it last all the longer. When it's put into a live plant it's very hard to tell the that the stem isn't real. (Again, providing you have a high quality faux orchid...)

Those are my must haves, what are yours?

Linking to Homebody's tips & tricks