The Kitchen...It's A Wrap!--Trying to Decorate, and a New Owl Corner

My Kitchen!
We finally finished!  We have a whole matching kitchen again.  My mom and stepdad kindly came down Friday afternoon and helped us with the installation and plumbing, and we were so grateful.  For the most part, things went as they should, and it took the majority of last Saturday.  We had a good time, though, and I think they did, too.  We made the pulled pork that I've mentioned many times before, and it cooked slowly the whole time we worked.  We were all pretty hungry by the end!  We enjoyed a delicious meal of pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans and green beans, with cupcakes for dessert.  I love my "new" kitchen now, and am more eager than ever to begin changing out the carpet in the living room and hallway for a nice wood laminate flooring and big area rug.  I believe that will complete all of the cosmetic changes we plan to make on the house before we consider putting it up for sale.  At least we'll be able to enjoy the changes we've made until then!  Here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

Deh-cor-ay-shee-uns
I am itching to decorate.  However, I've also had a ton of crafty ideas lately, and can't seem to find the time to do all I want to do while working during the day, taking care of dinner, dishes, laundry, and all of the other housework things that also need to be done.  I'm making more pumpkins (to decorate with, as well as sell), I purchased fabric for a mantle cover (which will look nothing like what I designed--I've decided that there is just not time to create the masterpiece I had in mind before Christmas comes and goes), various house decorations, and some awesome glittery wall decor, which will be a DIY tutorial on here in the very near future.  I seem to get a lot of ideas when I have the least amount of time to complete them, and then I get frustrated and feel like I never get a chance to do things I want to do, because I don't have the energy in the evenings to work on things I want to make.  Does that even make sense?  I have all of this ambition in the morning and early afternoon, and make all sorts of ambitious lists of things I want to accomplish, and then I get home and decide that I don't feel like making that delicious from-scratch pot pie, so we have fish sticks, and I don't feel like folding the laundry, so it stays in the dryer for days, and I would rather veg out on the couch instead of washing the dishes, at which point the pile of dirty dishes from dinner begins to resemble a stinky art sculpture in the sink.  At least my sink is deeper now, and can hold more dirty dishes.  But decorating must be done--it's something I look forward to doing every year, and something I hate to take down once the holidays are over.  It's really a vicious cycle.

Goodsmith's
Because I needed one more thing to do, I opened a shop on Goodsmith's.  Goodsmith's is a small, but unique, online shopping site, somewhat similar to Etsy, but still up-and-coming.  They have lower fees for selling, and listing is free.  I saw an ad in the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine that I picked up at the store last weekend, so I'm hoping that others who buy the magazine will give it a look and maybe bring some new traffic and sales my way.  If you have time, check it out!  Let's support artists and crafters in the U.S. and stimulate the economy the way it's meant to be done--through we the consumers, not the government!

Owl Corner

Today we will learn about the Western Burrowing Owl.  He's cute!  These guys can be found throughout the western U.S., a little into Canada, and into Mexico.  They are also found in western Florida.  This is a small to medium-sized owl, usually standing just under a foot tall.  They are known for their long legs and brown color, and usually have light brown to cream colored spots on the upper parts of their bodies.  As their name indicates, they burrow in the ground to make their homes and nests.  They will either dig their own new hole, or they will use abandoned holes of ferrets, prairie dogs, and other underground rodents.  They feed on beetles, grasshoppers, mice, rats, small ground squirrels, and other small rodents, and will even eat fruits and seeds, unlike other owls.  They usually only have one mate throughout their lives, and can lay a clutch of anywhere from one to twelve eggs, and their average nest size is seven eggs.  These owls are considered to be threatened/endangered.
Photo from sdakotabirds.com, taken by Terry Sohl.  Information from Owling.com, The Owl Pages, and thebirdersreport.com.

Hubby was gone again this week for work.  I struggle so much with loneliness when he's gone, because we have no family and no real friends per se here.  I have to remind myself constantly that I'm not alone, even though I can't physically see my Friend.  So when you find yourself faced with a lonely time, whether it's an hour, a day, a week, or a lifetime, just remember that if you have put your faith in the Lord, He will never leave you, and you are never alone.  Psalm 34:17-19 says, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles,but the Lord delivers him from them all", and Hebrews 13:5 says, "...because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'”.  Those promises provide comfort to those who are hurting and lonely.

Yay, It's the Weekend!

Ending My Lease
The time has come for me to part ways with the space I've been leasing at a shop in Bowling Green.   I was selling my items there, but was not making enough profit to justify the rent and gas it cost me to take my items up there to sell.  I will miss having space there, and it was a really neat little shop.  I wish the owner the best of luck in her future endeavors.
 
It got cold again!  Boooooo.

Lasagna & Chocolate Cupcakes

We haven't had much luck with the Weight Watchers recipes we've been trying lately.  That all changed tonight when I tweaked a Weight Watchers recipe for lasagna!  This is a great and easy recipe, although a bit time consuming.  For lasagna, though, isn't it worth the time and effort??  I haven't really ever made a real lasagna that I can remember, so for a first try, I was pretty happy with the result.  You need all of the basic ingredients, but I added ground beef and cheated by using our favorite store-bought pasta sauce.  Using fresh chopped parsley gave the lasagna a good, but not overpowering, herb flavor.  After my recipe doctoring, one serving (1/6 of the pan) was 9 points +, and a quarter of the pan was 13 points +.  Not bad!  And it could be a little lower if you use a leaner beef.

Smelled and tasted as good as it looks!

Here's a treat that I made earlier this week.  I know, chocolate cupcakes on a diet?  Well, these eliminate the calorie-laden oil and eggs.  Simply mix a 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix) and 1/4 cup of water with the cake mix of your choice.

For me, that was a no-brainer--chocolate!  The cupcakes were fluffy, slightly dense, moist, and chocolatey.  While there was just the faintest hint of pumpkin flavor, you really don't notice it.  My husband and I both agreed that they were tasty.  I am going to try a spice cake mix next with the pumpkin mixture.  I think it's going to smell like Thanksgiving soon!  Each muffin is 2 points +.

Sewing Project on the Radar
I came across an idea on Pinterest for a simple summer dress.  If I can get around to making it soon, I'll post pictures and directions on here.  Should be cute!

There are a few things on the horizon in my life right now.  Whether any of them will come to fruition, I can't say, but I'm hoping that a new season of my life will be starting soon.  However, I have no control over any of it, and I'm well aware of it.  But nothing stays the same forever: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:...a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6-7).  Life is unpredictable; thank God that He is the constant!

A Day at the Zoo

Note: Please check out my new venture: The Sunflower Tree!  Click the tab above this post, or go to http://thesunflowertree.weebly.com!

The Toledo Zoo

My husband and I had a visitor with us this weekend--his brother.  He comes to town occasionally for job-related training, and usually when he's in the area he stops by.  This time, he stayed a few nights, so we decided to take him to The Toledo Zoo.  It's a nice zoo, and has many great exhibits.  He'd never been there, and we were trying to think of things that we would all be able to do, and this sounded like the best plan, despite the heat.  The zoo turned out to be less busy than I expected, but busy enough for a hot day.  Our first stop was the penguins, because my brother-in-law said he's never seen any before.  On the way, we stopped to see the tigers, but they were trying to stay cool inside of their little cave.  Even the penguins found that time of the day to be too hot to do anything, because there were none swimming around in the water--they were all standing in the spray mist!  I guess we arrived at the time of day when the animals were least active, so we decided to get something for lunch before seeing any more exhibits.  Then we headed to the elephants to see the newest addition, a 380 lb. baby elephant named Lucas (for Lucas County, the county where Toledo is located), and boy was he cute!  We stayed there a while, then went to see the other animals.  We checked back later at the penguins and tigers, and they were both out and about now, so we enjoyed watching them for a while.  After that, we headed over to the Africa exhibit, where giraffes, zebras, and other savannah animals are kept, then finally we headed home.  After a long hot day in the sun, we decided that dinner would be carry-out that night, and we would get ice cream later from a local sweet shop, and spend a relaxing evening watching movies before my husband's brother left the next morning.  All in all, a fun day!  Below are photos from the zoo:

Penguins in the Mist

Lucas the baby elephant

A face like no otter!

Are you lookin' at ME?

Poison Dart Frog-no touchy!

Great red octopus--very cool!

That last visitor was tasty...

Large, medium and small.