Wordless Wednesday

The time has come...and I can't wait for it to be over with. 

60th Birthday Party for Two

For the past month and a half, I have been working on putting together a birthday party for my parents--both of them are having their 60th birthday this year, within two weeks of each other!  Dad turned 60 on the 14th, and my mom will on November 1, so I decided to throw this party inbetween them.  I was limited on the choice of the date, however, as hubby, Dad, and I have a mud run on the 28th (which I can't run in anymore since it is still in my six week recovery time...boo).

It started with sending out about 70 invitations to friends and family.  I was thinking about creating the invitation, but it got to be a big complication.  Instead I created the response card, prestamped them all and addressed them back to me so all they would have to do is fill it out and pop it back into the mailbox.  I think it turned out cute, and I had a few funny ones come back. :)

 

 

Next week, these and the photos that we took will be put into an album that I am going to make for them.

 

Since I ended up having surgery in the middle of the planning, I enlisted the help of my mom (plus, I knew that she would want to see what was going on!).  She wanted to make favors of chocolate lollipops, whereas I wanted to have little favors of paper plantable seeds to hand out.  So we did both--I made the favors of seeds, she made the lollipops.  They both turned out cute!!

 

 

 

I also wanted to do something special for taking pictures of the guests.  After seeing some cute ideas on Pinterest, I recruited my dad and hubby to build me a super big picture frame with stand out of the scrap wood and old parts of the fence we had by the shed.  I was THRILLED with how it turned out! Then I bought some garland with fall leaves (the theme), detached the leaves from the garlands, and glued the leaves to the wooden frame.  It was so big we couldn't put it together until we got it to the party, and even then we had to use a trailer to get it there! :)

 

 

And finally, after much planning and organizing, the day arrived.  Right on time, too--I was getting tired from losing sleep over all the things I needed to get done!! I even did most of the food for the 50 people we were expecting, not because I am totally nuts, but because I didn't trust catering to not cross-contaminate the food with gluten (and I really didn't want to spend the party time sick after all of this!).  I did have the cake made by someone else, but I made my own GF cupcakes.  There was brisket, green beans, Tahiti salad, pinto beans, pickles and onions, and loaves of bread (kept away from the other food).  All super yummy!!

 

The cake table

The cake! (inspired by Cake Wrecks)

Gluten free cupcakes--yum!

The dinner buffet being set up

The favors table

The table where guests were to sign a photo mat for my parents, and place birthday cards

The photo mat guestbook and basket for cards

The assembled frame where guests had their pictures taken

One of the tables

Another table setting

 

 

The party went wonderfully.  :)  Everyone had a great time, got to mingle and catch up, and my parents were very happy.  Every last bit of effort and planning was totally worth it--I would do it all over again!! 

 

 

 

Happy birthday to the most amazing parents!!  I love you!!!









Testing a Pin--Green Onions

It's no secret to those around me that I have a bit of an addiction to that heaven-sent website, Pinterest.  I'm trying to get my mom interested, as there are a lot of things that I know would inspire her do or make things that she would find.  I'm jjust going to have to make time to teach her the joys of Pinterest! :)

Before my in-laws moved here at the end of last month, I wanted to learn some Korean recipes (my mother-in-law is Korean) to show that not only I can cook (and do it well!!), but also that the traditional recipes can be made gluten free and taste just as wonderful as it's gluten-laden counterparts.

One of the recipes I wanted to tackle was the green onion pancakes...it looked good, easy to make, and I knew that they would love it.  However, in the whirlwind that accompanies the purchase of a home, paperwork, me suddenly going in for surgery and a toddler--well, things fall to the wayside.  The pancakes were forgotten, and more "normal" meals were made since they were easy to do on the cuff.

After they went home to pack, I was going through my fridge for ingredients to make dinner when I ran across the poor, withered green onions I had bought to make those pancakes.  I almost threw them out.  But then I remembered a pin that I had seen earlier about green onions--and how to make them a perpetual crop just by putting the white ends (the green chopped off) in some water.  Wow!  Maybe I had been the only person who never knew this, but I quickly chopped off the withered greens and plunked those little bulbs in a glass of water on my window sill.  A few days later...

 And now a week later....

 

Ready for harvesting!! 

 

 

And according to the comments and other posters, this can be done over and over again!  Now to attempt the pancakes...and will update if the recipe works out!

From Colorado to Texas, With Love

Last December, we moved for the last time (I really hope).  This house is what I consider to be my "forever home"--the last house I will live in.  I love it, and despite the few cosmetic changes that I am planning on making over the course of the next few years, the house is perfect for me and my family.  We have already started making the changes...the kitchen was the first place that we started.  The tile on most of the counters have been replaced, along with sink and faucet.  It was supposed to just be the grout, but it kinda blew up after a bit of work started.  :) 

Before (trying to clean the grout)

The destruction of the old

New tile!!

Backsplash and tile around range (which needs to be replaced--next on list)

New sink and faucet! :)

 

 

Ok, but this isn't what my post is about.  Although it does make me happy.  :)  But my point is, I don't plan on moving any time soon, and hopefully never.  My parents are a short three miles up the road--almost literally up the street.  Hubby's parents have lived in Colorado the past 30 years, and even tho D has been here since the late 90s, they had only seriously tried to move down here once.  Now, munchkin and I have entered the picture, and they have a more compelling reason to be close to family--and extended family on my side (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc all are also close by in either the next city or up to three hours away).  So a few weeks ago they made the trek down here to do some house hunting.  It took only three hours to decide on a house and put in an offer.  Two weeks later--last Saturday to be exact--they officially moved a mere 1.3 miles from us, in our neighborhood!  Munchkin is thrilled to have his other grandparents so close, as he has gained two more happy playmates.  They, too, see their new home as their "forever home" since family is where home really is.

 



Their new home!

 

They are slowly getting settled in, and I know that is a process that takes awhile.  Despite being here for almost a year now, I am still trying to find things in boxes we have in the attic!  Looks like when the weather cools some more, I will be climbing back up there and doing some organizing.  :)  Lucky for my in-laws that the weather here has been quite mild and not the dreadful heat from last summer--makes the chore of moving just a tad more tolerable!  Plus there is the bonus of having all the family in a three mile radius, something that is invaluable!

 

Fall has Arrived!

This summer was surprisingly mild, with only a handful of days over 100 degrees and several major rainstorms to keep the drought that we had last year at bay.  And with the beginning of fall comes one of my favorite things...pumpkins.  :)

There happens to be a pumpkin patch that they set up at a church here in town at the beginning of October.  Yesterday it opened, and with it a wonderful photographic opportunity for munchkin!  This year I am so excited that he is going to be able to enjoy it more than he did last year (he was busy learning to walk last year at this time--both a happy and sad time for me!!).  He already picked out a costume (well, pointed and kept saying "rooster" as we walked by the costumes in the store), and tho we won't be going trick-or-treating, he'll get to dress up and be his silly self.  :)  Needless to say, I can't wait to see him!!

After finding out that the pumpkin patch was set up and open, I decided to take Z out there after his nap while everyone was at work or school.  Clothes that I was sure were too big for him suddenly fit, and I found a pair of overalls that I have adored since he was tiny that was perfect for the pictures I wanted to take.  All dressed and ready to go, I packed up little man and off we went to the land o' pumpkins!

As my little guy has gotten older, he has realized what a camera is.  He also knows that I want him to look at it...and has lately decided to look every where EXCEPT the camera!  So I spend a lot of time snapping pictures of him looking off to the left or right, up or down, and sometimes I will be lucky to catch a smile at me. :)  I am hoping that he outgrows this unfortunate habit, but--in my opinion--he's adorable no matter what angle I get of his super cute face!

We had a lot of cars driving by, and so he felt compelled to wave at a lot of them.  :)  My super friendly baby!

Now...I can't wait for him and his Halloween costume! 

A Very Happy Gal!

The holidays came early this year for me...my super sweet in-laws gave me the most amazing camera! My first DSLR! It's a Nikon D3100, and I love it! S far, I've gone around snapping pictures and not yet read the manual, but I'll get around to that soon. But I'm so excited about all the pictures that I will be taking once I learn all the ins and outs of this wonderful camera! Both hubby and his dad love taking pictures with their DSLRs, and we are planning on having a few picture scavenger hunts and "assignments" when they finish unpacking (more about that later).
So...here is my new best camera friend!





Oh...and there is a story behind the strap. It was my grandfather's camera strap that he had on his cameras from way back when. I have very fond memories of him with his camera hanging around his neck. When I was a senior in high school, he passed down his Canon camera to me, and with it was the strap. I have held on to both ever since then, and it only seems fitting to use it again now. :) I miss him dearly, and this actually brings comfort and a smile.

Bumpy Road

It's amazing to me how many times I think I have things in life figured out, only to have it all change on a whim.

There were a lot of things that happened during my pregnancy that people weren't aware of.  Mostly I kept them to myself (or between me and D) because I was miserable and in pain, and more bad things just seemed to be overkill.  I had hoped that my pregnancy was going to be happy and healthy and I would glow like all those other women.  That just didn't happen.  I gained a ton of weight, I was constantly hurting (misdiagnosis of arthritis had me drugged, too), and could barely walk.  Nothing like I pictured.

During that time, like everyone else, I had regular check-ups.  One of the tests mid-pregnancy came back positive for cervical cancer.  Obviously there was nothing we could do at the time, so we waited until I had had Z and healed, and then three months later had gone in to take care of it.  We had decided on spot treating it, burning the areas that had were positive for the cells.  If that didn't work, we had decided to do surgery.  After another test coming back still positive, surgery seemed to be the next step.  However, I had a staph infection that had to heal first (from the hospital, go figure).

On a whim, the day of the consultation to schedule the surgery, I asked to be tested one last time to see if perhaps the spot treatment had maybe taken and maybe it had just needed time.  Tested...and it was clear.  No cancer!!  I was thrilled and over the moon--and for the first time, told people about all of this going on.  Scheduled an appointment for a check up six months out.

The six month mark was a few weeks ago.  I had a bad feeling about it.  Why?  Things weren't exactly working like they were supposed to, and it seemed to be a precursor to bad news.  I had told the doctor that I was worried that it was happening again, but she said that she didn't see anything and that it was most likely me stressing.  She would run the test, but told me to try not to worry.  She called me a few days later, on Friday.  I knew it was bad news--she's closed on Fridays. 

She said that I had been right, that it was back.  Three options--spot treatment again, surgery, or a referral to an oncologist that specialized in OB GYN.  I asked her what she would do--she said the surgery.  I agreed.  I didn't want the first option since it didn't work originally.  I didn't want the third option for two reasons: one, I didn't know how long it would take to get an appointment with a doctor with that specialty; and two, I didn't want to have to get to know another doctor--who knows what kind of a personality they would have and if I would like them.  So the second option really was the best for me.  Unfortunately since the office was technically closed, her surgery scheduler wasn't there and I had to wait the weekend to call back and get scheduled. 

Monday arrived, and the anxiety began to set in.  I wanted this over with as soon as possible, and I managed to get scheduled for surgery three days later.  So last Thursday I checked in the hospital around 8:45a.  I went back to my room and got changed into the very fashionable paper gown...which was SO hot (and I mean hot in temperature, not in looks!!).  I did manage to snag a pic of me modeling this trend:

 

 

Surgery was at 11a.  I had to send D home to get me some snacking food, as the hospital didn't have any GF options for me other than Jell-o (and I wasn't willing to take any chances).  After waking up from sedation (just a side note--the nurses and the anesthesiologist/anesthesiologist nurse were all AMAZING, and even sent me a get well soon card) (another side note: I know they send the card to everyone, but it did make me smile), I was there another hour or so wake up, eat, and then head out.  So I was home by 2pm, just in time for my mom to get there with Z from his day at school.  And I was so happy to see my little boy.  :)

 

Now I'm in another waiting game.  I find out the results from the surgery tomorrow.  They are going to analyze all the stuff they took, and let me know what they find.  We have plans in place for whatever the results are, and they will go into place soon after I recover.  But that's a different post, and not one I am quite ready to share yet.  ;-)  For now, I am just going to hope that everything I just went through worked and that bad news is not on the horizion.  I'm ready for good news! 

 



While I'm waiting and resting, I'll be surfing Pinterest, and testing out some pins for future holiday gifts.  That and preparing for my in-laws moving here this weekend!  They finally have 'bit the bullet' and purchased a home here in our neighborhood, and will be making the trek down here from Colorado this Friday.  I'm so excited for them to get down here an finally get to spend the time they have been wanting to spend with Z!