crafty.

i've said it before. but i'll remind you :)

i am crafty to keep myself sane :)

time? i make time.

-usually it's when the kids are in bed.

-or during some rare weekend hours when i get some ME time.

-or late at night while dave is at hockey. (<---- CLICK there)

yes, that is dave... #22 in the middle of the page.

showing off his fine hockey skills :)
(you can click that narrow picture for the whole picture)

some of our 'crafting' is family style :)

like these fruits we dried and gave as a gift!

lilly was our label artist.

dave and lilly repotted some plants dug right out of our own gardens, and gifted them. fun idea for the hard to gift person :)
daddy took care of harvesting our garlic.
our garage is now the sweet smell of garlic and hockey bag. yum.

i made a few cards! (though i really miss scrapping...)

i finally made MYSELF a tote bag :)
a few custom orders...

another quilt finished!

I do have more crafty things to share, but i'm sure i've already bombarded you with more than the eye can stand :) I will share more later!!

If you are still reading... don't forget about the recipe collection!

I'm excited with what we have so far :) Here's a little teaser....

This recipe has been submitted!!

Have a happy weekend everyone :)

Calling all recipes!!

I love food. I love cooking. I love recipes.

Especially NEW recipes!

My best recipes are ones that I’ve gotten from others.

So here is what I want to put together… with YOUR help!

The “Can I Get that Recipe?” Collection.

1. you make it every time you host a get-together

(people expect it to be there)
2. you make it every time you go to a get-together

(people expect you to bring it)
3. you make it every christmas/thanksgiving/birthday

(per request by someone)
4. you’ve been asked for the recipe a few times

(and then some)

If you know what recipe(s) I am talking about, we want it in this collection!!

HOW DO I GET THIS FABULOUS RECIPE COLLECTION??

Send 1-3 recipes to jenfinh@yahoo.com (or my normal email if that’s the one you normally use).

ANY kind of recipe. Soup, salad, bread, dessert, snack, appetizer, bar, dip, main dish, anything. Don’t worry if you think it is too easy of a recipe. Easy recipes are great! Just as long as it meets one of those 4 statements up above, you are good! (But please do not post the recipe directly to the blog… that would spoil the fun! Make sure to email it to me.)

Just type (or copy and paste) your recipe directly into an email, or attach it as a word file. Let me know how you want your name listed with your recipe(s) (ie :Aunt Melissa, Ali B., Dee, Jennifer H***ing, etc…) If you want to say where it’s from or give a little story about the recipe, go for it! (Most of my ‘good’ recipes are from my aunt! and stories are always fun!)

Please edit/proof read your recipe before sending it so that I am less inclined to drive myself nuts in doing so.

I will put them all into an organized PDF ‘cookbook’ of sorts, and I will email it to you. You will be able to save it to your computer and/or print it out and stick it in a binder! Everyone who contributes will get a copy of the collection via email!

Want lots of recipes?? I do!! Spread the word on your blog(s) or via email! Copy and paste this post (or the link to this post) to your blog, and/or email it to all you think would be interested!

The due date for your recipe(s) is Sunday, July 20th.

Questions? Send me an email jenfinh@yahoo.com (or my normal email…) and I’ll try to answer! I’m known to put in so many details that I leave the most obvious ones out!

Have a great week :)

pics and the 2nd drawing...

just some pictures... and the 2nd drawing video :)

a gigantic batch of delicious cookie dough :)


the squatter.
seriously, i think this is his job... squatting.

daddy testing out his weighted backpack.

the biggest strawberry we ever did see.

and here is the 2nd drawing for some Mandarin Pixie stamps!

the video...

...please let me know which set you would like and i will get that and some EZmount headed your way!

(i am sad to report that minutes after this video was taken the owl's head was dropped and broke into about 8 pieces :( i could not bear to throw him away, so a little super glue and he's back up above our cupboards where his injuries are not so noticable.)

happy friday to all of you!

father's day (part 2)

thank you for 2 of the best days ever...

love you dave :)

happy father's day!
we love you!!

here is the addition...(for those who have already seen the top half of this post)

when i was posting sunday night, i had actually looked in my june folder of digi pics to find a recent pic of dave with the kids... and there were none to be found.

so today, unexpectedly (as i had not told dave what i had wanted to post)... i open my email and dave had sent me a few photos from his office's family party which was held over the weekend. one of the photos was this one...



PERFECT :)

a winner!

Please send me an email with what one embroidery item or one stamp set you would like!! We will chit chat via emails to figure out details and such :)

After our 1st winner chooses her item, we will draw a 2nd winner to choose from the other store.

Thanks to all who commented :) It's nice to know that people are reading this!

Happy Friday!!

summer stuff and a drawing

their 1st year of school is over.
summer is here.

Lilly's teacher made a special gift to give to her student teacher. I stitched out the name and she had all the kids put their handprint and name on it!! ADORABLE :)

the berries are ripening.
LOVE being able to get fresh food from the backyard!!
the humidity is here.
the pool is up.

enjoy some H2O videos :)





and lastly... a drawing!
anyone who leaves a comment on this post will be entered in a drawing...

...for stamps or embroidery!

the winner will choose a set of stamps, or 1 embroidered item:) (nothing like a little bribe to see if anyone is actually reading this!)

(and... if you aren't on the list already, and you'd like an email each time i update the blog, let me know and i will add you to my "Jen's blog has been updated" list. if you want me to take you off the list, please let me know too!)

have a great week everyone :)

our sale :)

garage sales.
they are fun to shop.
but they are very hard work to get set up.
running them is a lot of work too.
this time around, the work was well worth it.
we got rid of a TON of stuff!!

so happy to make people smile with good deals.
so happy that our 'old' stuff can find new homes.

BEFORE
AFTER

(I wish I would have taken close ups inside the garage, because we really unloaded in there!!)

Lilly's lemonade stand :)
She made $50.00 in 2 days at her stand!!!!!
(I still can't believe that one...)

Lilly's best thief... er, I mean, customer.
I set up a little embroidery stand.
A few people took cards, so that was fun!

So there you go!

...a little garage sale fun.

Hope that eveyone is having a nice week :)

Be on the lookout in my next few postings for a fun recipe gathering of sorts! I'll get more details out soon, but start thinking about those recipes that you always make, take, and are passing out to others!! I'm always thinking of something... and you know I love food and fun recipes :)

7 years

may 26, 2008.
seven married years :)

another family photo shoot.
timed camera shots.
the camera on a box.
a stuffed tiger on the camera.
daddy presses the button and runs to the rest of us.
sitting in front of flowers at our house.
and flowers on the side of our neighbor's house.

we are silly. but the neighbors don't mind :)

a bit of cropping on the pics and wallah...
instant family photos.

(still need to photoshop out the electric meters. lol.)

i love when a photo really captures my life.
the 'bloopers' totally capture my life :)

enjoy your week :)