Month: January 2012

I know that I either found this on Pinterest or read it on a blog, but I can’t find the link right now.  Whoops.  I think it’s called cloud dough?  You could probably google it if you were more industrious than me.  🙂  At any rate, it’s *awesome* and you should totally make some today.

It’s super simple (my kind of recipe!) and if you’re not a crazy hippy you might even have the ingredients at home.  We, of course, did not have any baby oil at home so I had to send DH to buy it.  That and regular cheap flour.  A few of my friends pointed out that there are some issues with Johnson’s and Johnson’s, but let’s face it, I’m not going to buy organic essential oils for a 1 time sensory project.  Scratch that, I would but only if we had recently won the lottery.  🙂

The recipe called for 8 cups of flour, but the bag only had 7 1/2.  (i’m pretty sure anyway.  There was some math involved so it could really go either way.)

I compensated by using a wee bit less than a cup of oil.  How’s that for precise!  Side note: this might be why I’m a terrible cook.  Luckily children’s craft projects are pretty forgiving.

I’ll be the first to admit that it looked pretty gross when I first dumped the oil in.  And yes it really did turn brown.  Yuck.

It mixed in quite nicely though.  It’s really strange feeling.  Like flour, but if you grab some and squeeze your hand it holds its shape.  Awesome.

As you can see, the girls thought it was the bomb.  It does in fact look like a bomb went off in my kitchen.  Small price to pay for the amount of fun we were all having playing with it.

Shortly after this picture they started throwing it at each other.  Oh the joys of sharing.  🙂

We ended up moving it outside which turned out to be a wise decision.  I would totally let Kate play with this every day if I wasn’t now paranoid about the baby oil causing cancer.  Seriously though, 2 thumbs up.

I’m plugging along slowly but surely.  Anyone else still working on this?  I’m losing steam, but determined to finish.

We did a handprint craft on the 19th and Michael took some pictures of Kate and I.  I did it on a frosted transparency, so you can see the next page and the floor through it.  I added a bit of washi tape, a dymo label and a few jewels.

The back has a scrap of cardstock with some journaling, some more washi tape (love that stuff) and a bit of ribbon.

The 20th is actually a bit of a cheater picture.  I didn’t take anything good, so I took a picture of our Christmas Card wreath yesterday.  I just made it a half page and added some rubbons and a dymo label.

First I tried to write directly on the photo, but I didn’t like how it turned out so I put the dymo label over it.  I drew in the heart with a white pen.  I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

I left the back of the page plain.  I love how the other pages look peeking through.  🙂  We’re in the home stretch, just 5 days to go!  I have some other fun stuff scheduled to post soon too.

 

I’ll admit it, New Year’s Resolutions intimidate me.  Committing to something for the whole year?!?  Yikes.  Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I’m thinking January Resolutions.  I do better with short term goals.  🙂  I’ve decided to set 12 goals for myself to accomplish within the month of January.  (Michael thought that 12 was kind of arbitrary, but it’s 12 for 2012.  He’s says I’m in trouble if I make it to 2060.)  I’ll do an update post at the end of the month to see how I did.  Maybe I’ll even go crazy and set some February goals.  I’m not promising anything though.  🙂

1.  Lose 4 pounds.

That’s a pound a week.  Surely I can manage that.  🙂  Really I’m hoping for 6 pounds, but I like to set easy realistic goals for myself.  I’ve been on the dieting bandwagon since late October and I’ve lost 17 pounds so far.  I have a long way to go, but it’s a start!  If you’re wondering about the okra, it’s my go to snack food now.  Salty, crunchy and only 5 calories.  Much better than chips.

2.  Work out twice a week.

Obviously, I would like to work up to 3 times a week, but I need to start with some baby steps.  🙂  We finally got a TV (you can go ahead and welcome us to the 21st century) so I’m hoping to do some kind of workout video while Kate naps.  We’ll see how long this lasts.

3.  Update the blog 3 times a week.

And hopefully manage to keep my 1 week buffer.  (And maybe clean my laptop.  Yikes.)

4.  Finish December Daily

I’m so close I can taste it!  I only have 5 days to go.  I would love to get this finished in the next week so I can put it away with our Christmas decorations.

5.  Make 4 new Mama Crafts.

That’s one a week.  Surely I can manage that.  Ideas include new table clothes for our gorgeous new table, a new skirt, and getting started on Valentine’s Day crafts.  I’m hosting a wee little party for our playgroup and I cannot wait!

6.  Cook 2 dinners.

Michael’s a bit concerned about this goal as he does all of the cooing in our house and is a much better cook than me.  I figure I can manage 2 dinners though, right?  I mean, how hard can it be to follow a recipe?  (Way hard, but I’m determined.)

7.  Do 4 new Kate projects.

Kate loves projects and I would love to do some more with her.  I always have good intentions, but then life gets in the way.  I have one prepped (at least I’ve bought the ingredients) and I plan on doing 3 more of the eleventy-billion things I’ve already pinned.

8.  4 Date Nights.

This one might end up being the hardest since I work 4 nights a week.  Still, I think I can make it happen, even if it’s means we’re just watching a movie at home.  🙂  Michael is awesome and always plans things like this, but I think I need to step up and plan some of  my own.

9.  Edit and Order December Pictures

Including pictures for Project Life.  I’ll admit it, Project Life took a backseat to December Daily, but I did catch up on all of my journaling last night.  Now I just need to find some pictures to go with each day.  I also want to get all of the pictures I want to put in Kate’s regular scrapbook ordered.

10.  Walk Ninja Daily

Our poor puppy.  She loves walks more than anything and we have gotten bad about not taking her out.  Family (or at least Mama and Ninja) walks need to happen every night.

11.  Clean out The Pit My Bedroom.

I’ll spare you a picture.  Let’s just say that it needs some serious organization help.  Oh, and no matter how much weight I lose, I’m not going to start wearing old fraternity shirts or skanky club outfits.  I need to cull the clothes in my closet.

12.  Write Thank You Notes.

I’ll be honest, I’m a little embarrassed that I haven’t done this yet.  OK, I’m a lot embarrassed.  I think this might need to be today’s project.

All in all, I think that these are very attainable goals!  I think I’ll start on those Thank You notes now.  🙂