stylin' and profilin'

One sure sign that something crafty is about to go down is the sight of this little blue caddy.
And this is no exception!!

Last week, we found out about a couple in Texas who would like to see our adoption profile. Easy right? Well, that would be if we had a profile complete and ready to go. I kind of had thought we were done with this. I had archived pictures and therefore had to start from scratch. All of our other profiles that we have sent have been via email- but this family wanted something physically mailed to them. So, I started creating.

Have you ever tried to make the perfect something for someone you have ever even met? Well let me tell you- IT'S NOT EASY. It's about as easy as trying to market yourself. Of course, I am an over analyzer. I have thought and rethought through every step of this process. My first decision was about the prints. I had to create the prints with my publishing program. I am a whiz at that- so it didn't take long. It took longer to pick our the photos than to create the images. Then I had to choose the printing options. Luster? Glossy? Black and white? Color? Thanks to Costco, I was able to do all. The answer turned out to be color and luster. I got my prints and didn't like a picture in one of them. I then had to scramble to find a replacement picture and send that photo to Costco to be printed. Nothing like double work.

The next decision was paper. This was a hard one. Not too baby, because you don't know how they feel about the baby. Not too pink or too blue because you don't want to seem like you want one sex over the other. Not too country looking, or too stiff, or too wild, or too.... or too... you get the idea. I chose black paper, and hoping not to be too morbid, I brightened it up with perky white paper with black polka dots. Who wouldn't love a polka dot- right??

And so the project begins. I had to cut down my prints and cut my papers to size. With the helps of a little adhesive strip here and there I was able to create an folded photo album/dvd cover booklet.

Then I added our pictures with the last page blank for us to write a personal message.


I am now working on a little profile DVD to send to the family. I have had to sort through thousands of pictures and pull the perfect ones out again. I will post what the finished product looks like before it goes in the mail tomorrow. Back to work on it! Keep your fingers crossed!!

Once this little project is done- I have a LOT to catch up on post wise. Stay tuned!

Kate Kate Cupcake

In honor of Kate's birthday- I am posting 28 of my most favorite pictures of her. Click on it and it should get bigger. Enjoy! Oh, and yes, the one with our heads cut off was taken by a kid in our class. We thought we were being SO funny in a cheerleader type pose!

If you haven't been lucky enough to meet Kate yet- I highly recommend it! She is the life of every party, always gets in zany situations and is an all around FUN girl with a heart of pure gold. Happy Birthday Kate! I am a better person for knowing you!!

Spring Break Thursday

**updated***

Today, Mr. D. was off to spend some time with me over Spring Break. We had a very productive day unlike the rest of my week. We ran a few errands. We ate lunch at Zoe's, which I LOVE. We rented an industrial carpet cleaner- which we will be using tomorrow. We hung a shelf in the bathroom that had far to long has been neglected! We made Spicy Beef Salad.

This is Mr. D.'s absolute favorite thing to eat in the whole world. It's a dish from a restaurant called Surin that we like to go to. He found a recipe for it on the internet and we gave it a try. Here is the photo, the recipe and his review. I do not eat this, so I have no opinion to share.

Hands on time: 20 minutes Total time: 25 minutes Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon prepared roasted red chili paste
1 pound flank steak
1 small cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded and julienned
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tomato, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Instructions:

Prepare a medium fire in a grill. In a nonreactive bowl, combine the lime juice, fish sauce and chili paste; set aside. Slice the beef into thin strips, then grill to medium. Add to the bowl with the chili paste mixture and toss to coat.
Arrange the cucumber, onion, tomato, cilantro and green onion in a bowl. Top with the grilled steak and sauce.

I served his with rice because he always orders a side of rice. He also used lettuce wraps.

OK- I totally didn't do the cucumbers right, but I like them in circles and I knew who would be eating the rest of that cucumber. He didn't mention the shape of the cucumber in his critiques, so I am sure that didn't matter. He said this was almost dead on 100% the same as Surin's recipe, but he suggested the following.

* less lime. He said that he didn't even know there was lime in it based on eating it at the restaurant, but that in my dish you could really taste the lime.

* double everything else in the sauce. He said that there needed to be more sauce.

* use a better cut of beef. He said the flank steak was too touch and that a better cut of beef would have been better. Apparently at the restaurant he said the meat seemed to melt like butter. I wonder what they use!

Other than that- he said it was great!

****UPDATE**** We were able to find all of these ingredients at Target, and we noted the Publix had them as well. There is a red chili paste and a red chili and garlic paste. The recipe calls for the first, but the blurb before the recipe we got here mentions the second. We used the red chili paste and added fresh garlic.

Spring Break Tuesday and Wednesday

I wish I could list a whole bunch of stuff here that I have accomplished over Spring Break-- but I can't. I have not done a single thing. I have simply relaxed, refreshed and renewed.

Tuesday I slept in. I took a shower. Meghan came and we went for a sushi lunch. I came home and watched two movies that I had recorded on the DVR. I did two loads of laundry. I made dinner. That is all I can report on Tuesday.

Today, I slept in. I ate eggo waffles and watched a movie I had on the DVR. It was about a girl named Carolina. I love that name for a little girl and this movie made me love it even more. I worked on an adoption profile to mail to a potentially interested party (more on this later). I watched tv. I did more laundry. I took a bath. I made dinner. That's all I have to report on today.

I know this may not sound like a fun and exciting Spring Break but for me it has been total bliss!!

Mr. D. is off with me for the rest of the week- so I am sure there are adventures to be had from this point forward. Stay tuned.

Spring Break Monday

Do you know what this is??
I have been the lucky recipient of an Amish Friendship Bread Starter. I have been caring for it for a few days now and will be able to bake with it on Friday. I have been doing some internet research on possible recipes and I think I am going to create a cinnamon strudel for our breakfast on Saturday. I have had starters before but It has been a while since I have had a sweet bread starter, so I am excited.

We have had some sprouting in the plant department. The basil (4 on the far left),and a little of the chives (next to the basil).
The Parsley is sprouting as well.
My plan was to plant my strawberry pot today, but it was cool here so I decided to keep them inside a little longer.

It was my first day off from work for Spring Break. I really did not accomplish much. I watched 2 movies. I did some internet research. I took a short nap. I went to the market. I did cook a tasty shrimp and feta pasta dinner. It was a very relaxing day. Tonight, I am going to work on my Spring Break to-do list so that the entire week is not wasted on doing nothing. Believe me, there are plenty of projects to work on!

Mrs. D. and the garden to be

It's starting to be the time of the year when my focus turns to my little garden. Last year was the first year I had a garden and we loved going on and harvesting the fresh herbs. Last weekend, Mr. D. and I went to Lowes and I decided that this year I would start my plants from seeds instead of buying already established plants. It saves a ton of money and I think it will be a fun little project. I purchased a few packs of seeds and this little window box greenhouse. Mr. D. noticed a cute little basket set with a few different things that we liked so we got that too. This year I am taking on tad bit more in the gardening arena. I must admit I am fairly excited about the idea of it. I like the idea of harvesting the bounty. I have had to do a lot of research already on the seeds I have and the items we are growing. We are growing:
Dill
Chives
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Strawberries

I was telling my friend Kate about the gardening situation and she brought me this little surprise.
It's is a strawberry pot for my strawberries. I am really excited about it and think that it is SO cute.

I must tell you that while we were at the store looking at the seeds I was reading them off to Mr. D. Do you want ... blah blah blah and he would say yes or no. I asked if he wanted

He laughed and said that he didn't believe I could grow a watermelon or a pumpkin. Personal challenge accepted. I have started my Watermelon seeds and it should be ready on Rylee's birthday. I will start my pumpkins this summer. We will see if I can do it or not.

kicking it old school