CuteKittyPunk

I just realized it had been quite some time since I blogged. Well, I was waiting for a baby to arrive. He came very late. Almost two weeks late so I decided to have him evicted in the hospital so there wouldn't be any other surprises or disappointments.  We decided on the name Dakoda. I get mixed responses - from that is such a cool name, or such a fine name... to...  you know that's a girl's name, too?! And I say, yeah, I know, but we are spelling it with two D's - and pronounce it so... then we can have nicknames like Koda, or Kody, or whatever.  Siembra has taken to calling him Dakody. It's cute. She absolutely adores him. She is constantly poking him in the face. I really have to keep my eyes on her around him. She is poking him out of love, of course, not to hurt him - she says: Dakoda is my best friend. It's very sweet. So, I have been busy... er relaxing... er recovering from this new birth. Fourth child takes a toll on the body. Especiall...

So, since I've gotten into Pinterest - pinning crafts and recipes, I thought it would be good to share what works and what doesn't work out so well. I have been crocheting like a crazy old granny lately because I needed something to do to focus while I waited for my baby to be born. I am now, surprisingly 41 weeks pregnant and going... First time that has happened with me. I'm told it's because the baby is a boy. All my girls where 5 days late... but this is almost too much to take. Anyway, my midwife "swept the membranes" or "stretched my cervix" this morning. This caused a little bit of blood loss... and some obvious discomfort but so far... no contractions... and I suspect it won't do much either. So, if by morning, nothing progresses, then I am to call the hospital gynocologist and make an appointment for an echo on Thursday morning... and then I can call the midwife and she can come in the weekend and try and break the waters in hope...

I had about 400 pins in my crafty stuff/crochet board so I've been doing some reorganizing. I just wish that I could have sub-folders within the same board because there is not a really good way to let your followers know to follow a new board when you go and change stuff around.  I added about 5 or 6 new boards as follows: Crochet hats, Crochet afghans, Crochet - home decor, Crochet Techniques, Crochet Clothing, Crochet Bags - maybe there was one more...  Well, it's the point that I've been pinning so many crochet projects and inspiration that it got to be so much that it needed a reorganization.  I've been nesting... I have 6 weeks until my baby boy is born.  Here are some projects that I pinned:  Pretty as a Package by Connie Stults I made this little hat 3 times - in three different sizes... maybe it was the type of yarn that I used, but all three hats were way off on the size. The 0-3 month size fit loosely on a 6 month baby. I made the small a...

In my repertoire for 2013 I challenged myself to make something from the amigurumi style of crochet.  And I finally did! Wednesday night I started it, Thursday afternoon I spent about an hour on it, and then Friday I finished it up. I was so surprised about how quickly you can make things... (normally I made afghans and they take forever). I don't know why but I thought it would be difficult, but it's not - it's easy peasy! I got this book: Amigurumi Two  but I found it at a book store in the Netherlands so it was in Dutch like this: Superschattige figuurtjes haken. So, it took me a little bit of figuring out just what the heck they were saying... reading a recipe in Dutch is no problem for me, but reading a crochet pattern in Dutch - difficult. I think I got it though. I made the "hot air balloon with teddy" and I know just who to give it to :) I must say, I'm impressed with myself for completing one of my New Year's goals - it feels pret...

Name Nerds: this is a new term for me. I didn't know I was one. But I do have a thing for names. Ever since I was a young girl and since I've kept a personal journal, I have been keeping lists of names.  Whenever I hear a name I'm not familiar with I ask the person about their name. What its origins are - what it means.  I have a keen interest in it. I remember going to the temple as a 12 year old girl and remembering unique names of persons I was baptised for and in behalf of... like Dorcas. How could that be a real name.  But since I own a baby name dictionary for world names - I see it's a common name - or at least it used to be. Some names are totally common and popular in the Netherlands that wouldn't work at all in the United States. For example, and this is no joke, this is a real name: Freek (boy). So is Joke  (girl). Of course, they are pronounced differently in Dutch than in English. This is part of the problem with choosing a baby name. A good ...

I've been kind of happy with Pinterest lately. I think I mentioned this last month in a post . Well, I finally have been trying a few recipes here and there that I pinned. The ones that turn out pretty tasty are usually the dessert recipes. But I've tried a few other more adult - grown up foods that were good as well. Like some French Dip subs for example, but what I really want to share today are two crafts that I did that worked out well and one dessert. Nutella Smores Bars This isn't a recipe I would have gone looking for, that's why it's nice to just subscribe to a few other Pinners who like similar things and then you get some really great suggestions. This one actually came via The Cake Bar. I have been wanting to make it for a while. I even bought real Nutella because it was on sale last month. I was going to go to a Church picknick and then it got cancelled due to sucky Dutch weather.  Well, Mark asked me to make something that he could take on a phot...

Mark just showed me this book he got. It wasn't familiar to me. Then he had to run an errand, and while he was gone I picked up the book and started reading it. He got home and he was like you stole my book... and I thought, I am an artist. The book is called Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon - and it's a little book, I read it in about 30 minutes and it sparked a good many ideas for me.  One idea was to write down ideas... and I already write down ideas as I get them, but maybe I need to put them in a little book where they can remain all together so that I can access them easily again. Also, I do journal on a regular basis so I got that going for me... but I could do more. There is some advice in this little book that I've already figured out myself - that I wish I would have known when I was younger. For example, educational and financial stuff that Mark and I talk about all the time, now. We are like - we should tell our kids this when they get to be that ...

What do these three things have in common: basketball, Oreo Blizzards, and the BK Whopper? Answer: My grandmother Dorothy Shea. She passed away a few years ago, but this week we will be celebrating her birthday as a way to remember her - and as a way for the kids to learn about her. She played high school basketball in Logan, Utah... something I never learned about her until after her passing. I think I was aware that she liked watching baseball on t.v. Recently, my girls have been getting into baseball. So, we've watched different movies on t.v . or Netflix, rather - to teach them the sport. So, I'm going to do the same thing with basketball. We have two movies in the queue - ready to go to show them how basketball is cool. One is called The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend.  I watched it a few months ago and remembered that this kid could spin the basketball on his finger for a very long time... they are looking forward to seeing that. We also have queued - a girls ...

In the last two months or so I've really gotten into Pinterest -  and even though I had that Pin It button on my tool bar for over a year, I finally got why Pinterest is useful. It's like Evernote - but public - although they do have a possibility for secret boards... and it's a great way to organize stuff... except that Evernote lets you organize websites and notes without images...   that's the only problem I've run into with Pinterest - I can't "pin" some really useful websites because they have no images on the site. It basically sucks then... But really, I have come across some super duper cute tutorials and images that I basically without Pinterest - would have probably not stumbled upon. Here they are... Definitely the Cutest Craft t utorial   I have seen this month: From Prudentbaby.com - DIY Fox Scarf with Free Pattern How cute it this foxy scarf?! I love it. And it actually looks easy to make according the the tutorial.....

I painted Temple Day Dream last year 2012 - really it captures the essence of how I like to paint, very whimsical - inspired by 1960's cartoons and children's illustrations - colorful and simple... it's the Washington D.C. Temple from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... it's one of their more magical looking temples, in my opinion. The original sold quickly after is completion... I need to order myself a duplicate on canvas because I really, really like it. Last night or rather this morning, I had a very poignant dream. I woke up thinking, gosh, if I could go back in time I wouldn't have changed what I studied in college or where I went to college, I would have changed what I had done in high school which would have changed what I studied in college and where! I had a dream that I was in Paris. And I had this feeling like I should have pursued art. As a child I had the gift. I loved art. I loved drawing.  You know, I'm pretty disappoint...

About two years ago I had the worst cough imaginable. It was a nagging couch. It felt like asthma might feel like. It wouldn't go away. I thought it was caused by an allergy to my new pet rabbit in the house... but after an allergy test - that wasn't it. Then, against my better judgement I finally went to my house doctor - knowing he couldn't do anything for me (sorry I don't have much faith in doctors)... and sure enough all he could do for me was give me an antibiotic. I thought to myself, that's not going to do any good, but I was desperate so I took it... and it didn't do any good! I spent weeks searching the Internet and my Nutritious Healing book and finally after much pondering decided to follow the Candida diet and cleanse. Found here at this link: Candida Detox . I didn't even wait till the beginning of the year, I think I started it December 31st - I was so desperate to get well... and within 3 days I started feeling much better - and within 5 ...

I got the recipe from an Arizona friend. People in Arizona just know Mexican food a little bit better than people else where - some of the best Mexican food I ever had was in Phoenix. Anyway, the thing that makes this Salsa different, is that it's partially cooked - and that makes it smoother and tastier in my opinion. My  husband also really likes it and that says something because he doesn't like the 100% raw salsas - this one is more like store bought - but cheaper because you make it yourself. It could last up to 10 days in the refrigerator... but it won't last that long because if there is a bag of tortilla chips nearby - it will be devoured quickly! Easy Arizona Salsa 1 can chopped tomatoes 1 bunch (handful) fresh cilantro leaves (aka coriander) 1 medium onion, peeled 1 medium green bell pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 1-3 teaspoons garlic salt (or 1 Tablespoon garlic powder + 1/4 teaspoon salt) red pepper flakes to taste (Sambal to taste) Directi...

Yesterday I decided to share my week's menu and I noticed that one of my favorite meals: Chickpea Burrito's was not only - not on my blog - it's also not to be found online - anymore. I found the original recipe via Vegweb.com and now when I go back to that site to search for it - I can't find it. It's as if the original submitter of the recipe, took it down.  I don't know why - it's delicious - and a great alternative to black bean or pinto bean burrito's. The original recipes was submitted by user kelly.elly and called it Refried Garbanzo Beans with Sauted Veggies Burrito . You can see why I shortened the title. I had it added at one time in my WW recipes list and it's about 4 PTS. per burrito (but I used lots less olive oil then - and had to steam my veggies instead of saute them in oil). The original recipes says it serves 3.... but from my experience it serves about 8. So, I will give my version of the recipe - which is almost exact - ju...