Daffodil Dreams

March is the month of Daffodils. Daffodil Days. Living here, on the Front Range, we don't have many coming up and blooming quite yet. As it still snows 8 or 10 inches every other days or so. They will grow soon. Though, there isn't a place where there are fields of daffodils to commemorate Spring's entrance. How I wish there were. Don't most girls dream of things like that. Opening up a second story window to find a field of flowers below them...or is that just me? There is a scene in the movie "Big Fish" that does just this... though the daffodils are bought, and brought to her from five surrounding states. Doesn't every girl dream of that? Or is that just me as well? Regardless... I buy them. To add a little yellow to my life. A pop of color and gentleness. I have them perched in my Grandmother's old blue canning jars. My grandmother who was surrounded by black dirt and beautiful summer time flowers that grew without much coaxing.

So today... don't forget to take in the miracle of what mother nature does every year. And dream of daffodils.

Song: Every Day, Buddy Holly

Tiny Dancer

Well....at this stage you never know what they are going to be, as she isn't quite crawling yet. She did look pretty darn cute in a little tutu though. What little girl doesn't though? She'll be twirling and swirling before long. For now... it's just precious to see her sitting in the morning sunshine.

Also just in time for Easter (her name was one the basket... I removed it for the Internet)

And this... this is what moms do.....they make faces. Babies love it! Oh, who are we kidding, we all make faces with babies. They eat it up. Or maybe they think we're crazy. Doesn't stop us from doing it!

Song: Tiny Dancer, Elton John

Peanut

He's quite a character! He has a rocking horse named "Horseradish." He thinks sheep stink (referring to the CSU Sheep south of us, which apparently caused a little stir at church the other day!) He LOVES the Cowboys. He also loves peanuts. In between each set of shots....that's what he was eating! He has grown so much, it's hard to believe how big he has gotten!

He also just about to be a big brother!!!! I think he's pretty excited to meet him/her!

And one last thing... he loves to wear Tupperware on his head!

Song: Linus and Lucy, Vince Guaraldi

About Those Oranges

There are two things I almost always have in my house....a giant basket full of fresh fruit and fresh flowers. These are neither for show. I eat fresh fruit and my son does even more than I do. I keep fresh flowers in the house just because... well... they make me happy. It's a Sat/ Sun morning ritual to pick out new flowers for the house. Fresh anything pretty much makes me happy.

A couple months ago, oranges were on sale so I experimented a little. I made an orange liqueur. I made limoncello last year and LOVED it so I decided to try something different.

The process was easy.

Peel oranges with a potatoe peeler. (I used about 10 oranges). Make sure to get the least amount of pith (the white stuff) as you possibly can. The more you have, the more bitter your liqueur will be. In a sun tea pitcher, I mixed the orange peels with a bottle of Everclear and 1/2 a fifth of whatever Vodka you choose (save the other half for another batch) Let this mixture sit (in the dark) for about 4 weeks. (The longer it sits, the better it tastes!) Mix in a simple syrup mixture...it can be made to your tastes. I used 4 cups of water and 2 and a half cups of sugar... heat it on the stove until sugar is dissolved. Pour this into the orange rind, liquor mixture. I also added 4 sticks of cinnamon. I let this sit for another 3 weeks. I would taste it occasionally to see how it was doing. When it was done I used a coffee filter and drained the liquid into my bottles.

This is a pretty strong drink to have alone.... I really like it with hot tea at night when it's really cold. It's the perfect night cap!!!!!!

Now I have to decide what to try next!!!!

Song: Bittersweet, Big Head Todd

Till It Shines

Patience is a virtue. That's my mantra these days. For most everything in my life...I must patiently wait.

This was taken 2 days ago.





And today... it just keeps coming and coming and coming. The sun is coming to stay someday. I just know it. This time of year is always so hard. Mother nature teases me... for about 12 hours. I wish she wasn't such a practical joker sometimes.

Song: Till it Shines, Bob Seger

Progress

My goal for the new old house I moved into a few months ago, is to make corners / spaces here and there, where I can sit with my laptop and enjoy the view while I work. Not to mention....an entirely closed in area full of windows is pretty much a natural light photographer's dream come true!!!! I was instantly drawn to the front porch of this house even though it had HORRIBLE smelly carpet, GIANT cracks in the wall, some sort of stains ALL over the walls, paint chipping and so on and so on.

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on it. Getting it to look much prettier and cozier. And now, I am able in the evenings (when it's not blizzarding and snowing and freezing cold!!!) Sit out there and enjoy the view.

My husband put his heart into the tiling job, which took 15 boxes of 16 inch tiles (it's a HUGE area). While he tiled I painted and repainted the entire area, including the ceiling. I added a couple light blue velvet chairs and a little glass table (which I will talk about later)

This is what is looked like before. The bald puppy couldn't stay out of the way!

And, even though I LOVE to paint and repaint everything all the time... I don't really love it when I spill an entire bucket of it on the ground.

I did leave one thing the same.... this light. It's original to the house. Nearly 100 years old.

And the giant hole (the heat vent)...well it was an issue the whole time it was uncovered. My son fell in it while he was helping me paint (that was the day he told me he was going to be an artist, much to my heart's delight!) and then my cat crawled all the way down the vent the next day. He came out completely black!!!

I have several more things to share regarding the front porch... but haven't quite gotten to them yet... just wanted to share a little as some have been asking how everything is going!

That time..

The first day of Spring was spent in one of the warmer parts of the state. We drove through blizzards and black ice only to come to the end of the canyon full of sunshine. The puppies were able to run and romp through the fields of grass without the bugs and the burrs. As was the kiddo. I was able to sit in the middle of it and take it all in. To listen to the birds that are returning after being gone for so long. To watch the sun glisten off the grass and the leaves that will soon be green. Not nearly soon enough though. It's almost impossible for me to wait patiently this time of year.....it's coming though. That special, scent inducing, memory enhancing time of year. I can't wait.

Song: It's About Time, Jamie Cullen

My Favorite Color

Though it's a few days late (been on the road a bit the last few days) I thought I would share the St. Patty's day experience of my household. First of all, I really, really love St. Patty's. It's one of my favorite holidays (just because it's one of those that requires less pressure from the outside world) and because one of its main purposes is to celebrate my favorite color: GREEN!!! Now, I'm not a green bandwagon jumper. I have always loved green... though I will admit that the shades of green to which I'm drawn are a little different than they used to be, but none-the-less, I still love it.

My son woke to green milk from the Leprechauns. He didn't want to drink it, but he wanted to make sure that it was there waiting for him when he was ready. After school (thanks to my husband, because I didn't have spare time during the early day) he came home to a trail of pennies strewn through the house at which the end was $2 whole dollars which he will promptly spend on new bubble gum balls.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the kitchen with my carrot stealing brother in law. He and I normally spend most holidays and special events in the kitchen together and have often thought how happy we are there and why can't we do this everyday. He took the lead with the Corned Beef and Cabbage (something I don't eat, thus don't cook....) So, I cooked all the extras.... all the green extras. Green bacon Beans. Green Broccoli. Green jello. Green Fruit Dip covered in rainbow fruit. Sprite in Green bottles. Green milk in green bottles. Of course green beer! It was an uber green meal!!! (Told you I love green!) We celebrated with about 10 of us.

Recipe for Green Fruit Dip:
1 14 ounce tub of Marshmallow cream
1 package cream cheese.
1 package green jello.
Mix well. Dip. And double dip when no one is looking!

And if you have ever wondered about the fate of unicorns....

Song: The Unicorn Song, The Irish Rovers

Shamrocks Ready to Glow

I keep reading every where how awesome Mod Podge is, so we decided to put it to the test today, for a little decoration for St. Paddy's tomorrow. I think it's worked out perfectly!!!!
I picked up some see through recycled paper. Cut 3 little hearts out for each shamrock and added a stem. Stuck them on $1 candle holders I had picked up as well. Had the little one cover them in Mod Podge and let them dry... and viola!!! Shamrock candle holders!!

Now tomorrow we have on the menu everything green. I LOVE green!!!! The leprechauns have already left green milk for in the morning, but forgot the lucky charms...those darn leprechauns!

Song: Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog

Just Be Claws

In the middle of a really busy week last week, Park and I decided to take a break and make a treat "just be claws" we wanted to. (Roll your eyes if you want... we thought it was hilarious!!!)

We made something... you guessed it!!!! Dinosaur related. BIG SURPRISE!!!!

These are Velociraptor claws. We also made T-Rex claws, but T-Rex claws have two claws and not three. (my son gets very irritated at manufactures that make them wrong!!!!!!)

So to make these, you just need a few things:

Nutter Butter Cookies (the kind shaped like a peanut)

Green Candy Melts (You can buy those at most craft stores)

Cashew Halves.

That's it!!!!

Melt the green candies in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Dip the cookies in the green melted candy. (cover them on both sides) and then stick the cashews on as claws. There you have it. Some awesome Dino claws!!!!!

Song: Candy Claws

Sisters

They have the same eyes...and if I had to guess they will have the same hair (though they are both two of the most bald babies that I have ever seen!) They will be attached to one another always....a bond that can never be broken!

Song: Hey Soul Sister, Train

Brown Eyed Girl

She had those doe eyes. Those beautiful, brown, shine-when-the sun hits them eyes. She was also very much on the go, not unlike others her age, so I sat patiently until she would glance at me, if even for a second, to catch those eyes.

And bless her heart.... her mom was on bed rest. I'm guess she was not suppose to be up and at-em as long as she was for the time I was there. The new little one will be coming any day now!

Song: Brown Eyed Girl, Reggae Version

Wow Factor

Sometimes it's just there... that "wow" factor. This little one definitely had it. (And we even had a rough start to the shoot... tipping over whilst just learning to sit is hard on a little one, though every one of them falls over and over and over again!) The setting doesn't have to be complicated (some of the places I make people sit and stand are just a little crazy, but I promise there is always a method to my madness!)

Seriously... look at those rolls!!!

And those eyes!

And you can see where she gets her looks... her mom is GORGEOUS!!!

Song: These Photographs, Joshua Radin

She Makes Me Work For Them

For the first twenty minutes I normally get a very somber look from this little one. Or more like a "I'm going to sit here and stare at you with my lips pursed just because I can and you can't make me smile even if you hang upside down from your toes and whistle like a monkey" kind of look.


But then... slowly.....slowly. (Normally candy is involved as well as some tickling from mom) and we get this.

And yes, I know it's March and in all the normal parts of the country..... it might be raining. Here, no. We have snow here. Wet, wet snow. Eatable snow.

Song: Yellow, Coldplay