Meet Tom

I'm trying to grow tomato plants from seeds. Key word: trying. A few months back my dad helped me re-pot the seedlings. It was touch-and-go there for a while and I thought Tom was a goner. This deathbed picture was taken to show dad what he already knew: I am a murderer of anything green.



















But lo and behold, he's alive!!! The poor guy has been dehydrated (several times), knocked off the steps by my bear of a husband, and relocated twice. I know I need to plant him in the ground, but the people who cut our grass just mow down everything in sight! Maybe I'll make him a little flag or banner or something to keep the mowers away. I'm hoping he lives long enough to bear some green tomatoes for frying.




















Oh, and of course my long term goal is this:



















That's one inspiring mustache. Did you think I meant the tomato?

Cupcake Caricatures

Apparently, I can add "Desserts that Look Like Your Family Pet" to my repertoire. These Albie Cakes were to celebrate our dog Albert Einstein's fourth birthday. John Jay didn't let him eat one, although I did sneak him some icing.

Any excuse to eat cupcakes, right?

Cheap, or Clever?

This is how I paid the baby-sitter last night. When I asked Hannah Rose how much babysitters get paid these days, she replied as sweetly as possible, "Oh, you don't have to pay me...I mean...I get an allowance and everything, so I'm good." (Isn't she funny?!) So I told her I'd think of something.
I bought these beads at the same time as the bird necklace. I love this stuff. It reminds me of Mrs. Gina's dishes. Hopefully it was worth two hours of crying games...Judah was testing out the new authority and decided to give her a hard time. What can I say?...he's John Jay's kid.
Hang in there Hannah! He'll give in eventually. Until then, I'll keep the "money" flowing.

Mama's Spinach Pasta

I'm horrible at naming my dishes. When John Jay asked me what this was I said, "Um, creamy...chicken and spinach....stuff." He said I needed to work on that. So, "Mama's spinach pasta!" sounds more appetizing, I suppose. This first attempt had chicken, but we just acquired a very large bag of peeled crawfish that I'll be using next time.
I basically turned my mom's spinach dip recipe into a baked pasta dish. Here's what you need:

a large bag of fresh spinach
green onion (3-5)
minced garlic
grated Parmesan (1/4 cup?)
4 0z. cream cheese (light works fine)
approx 4-5 oz. sour cream (light works fine)
salt and pepper

10 oz. whole wheat linguine
one can of mushrooms
2 cups cooked chicken
grated Parmesan

•Cook the pasta (according to package directions).
•Chop the spinach and green onion and mix the first seven ingredients. Cook for about 2-3 minutes in microwave, stirring every 45 seconds or so.
•Drain noodles and stir in spinach mixture, mushrooms and chicken. Pour into casserole dish and top with Parmesan. Bake at 350˚ for 25-30 minutes.

I Guess We Like Birds (???)

This little love bird bead wanted to be a pendant for me to wear. But after I made it, I thought, "What's the deal with the Alvaro's and birds?" There's my husband's blog: strange bird alvaro, as well as his first tattoo (here are the only pics I could find of it. Bonus: a pregnant belly!). Then of course, my first sewing project. And now this.

Every body's got something, right?

Breezy PJ's

I needed some summer pj's that were lightweight and non-ugly. I realize that "need" is a strong word here. But in my defense, there are plenty of days that I don't change into real clothes and if my jammies are this cute, I can justify it.
I am particularly proud of these because I made them from scratch!!! No pattern. Okay, enough fronting...I'm scared of patterns. They make me nervous. I measured and eye-balled a similar pair of pre-existing pj's as a guide. Next go 'round, I will use a little heavier fabric. Somewhere between flannel and cheese cloth lies the perfect material. This one was hard to keep together - it leans more towards cheesecloth. We'll see how they hold up. But I guess you get what you pay for when you shop the dollar bin at the fabric store!














I still need to learn how to use a pattern. But it's so nerve-racking! Plus, every time I start the instructions I get frustrated with the pattern lady telling me what to do. She doesn't know what I like! Besides, there are too many steps. I want shortcut patterns.
Or I need to just stop whining and do it.
Ugh!

My Ear-rangs (you have to say it like that)

My original intent was to just shorten the long blue-green ones (on the chain). These have been hanging in my closet for a while in the "what were you thinking" section. John Jay pointed out that they rested on my collar bone (as a joke) so I figured it was time to re-do them. But before I even started on those, I saw those sparkling little crystals staring at me...begging me to turn them into earrings. So I played for a while and this is what I came up with. Fortunately, John Jay was home to watch Judah since I get tunnel vision. I love making jewelry - especially wrapping the wire. I don't know why that's so satisfying, but it is. It ranks right up there with watching the presser foot eat fabric, coloring with a red crayon, and using bright blue paint on a fresh canvas.
You can see them better in these first photos, but I had to include the one with the nosy polar bear.