Zach's Pro Tips: Don't Sleep on the Love Seat

We've all been there. You get home after a long day, sit down on the love seat, maybe turn on the TV. Before you know it you feel yourself getting a little drowsy. You might feel the urge to lay down for a cat nap. 

Here's a pro tip from Zach: Don't do it!

I've conducted extensive research and documented my findings in the hopes of saving you from possible disaster. 

This is the classic pose that you think will work, but doesn't.  First of all, you forgot to turn off the light. This position offers no protection from 19 watt florescent bulbs.  You are going to wake up with a crink in your neck and a love seat isn't designed to support your lower back. 

The diagonal extended approach offers protection from the light, but it is probable that you will fall off after one miscalculated move. 

Whale in a Fishbowl: This one sounds good- as you have more room to stretch out, but only compounds the neck pain upon awakening. 

The Avalanche: Sometimes fatigue get the best of us and we think something like this is a good idea. It's not. 

The Armrest Body Pillow: Doesn't offer as much support as it promises. 

The Rump-elstiltskin: Oxygen comes at a premium in this position.

The Jolly Green Giant: When the blessing of long legs becomes a curse.

The Hotdog: This one offers a fair bit of support to start, but is likely to suffer the dreaded "fall in the crack" curse as your restless movements push the cushions around.

The Plank: A great ab workout. Not so practical for sleeping.

I hope this research helps you make a proper decision.

Remember: Walk the 20 feet to your deluxe, King-sized, 4 inch memory foam bed, with full body pillow and down comforter.


You'll thank me in the morning.

Remembering Peter: Scrabble

For Christmas I made Zach a Scrabble Board shadowbox that I worked on for months. I thrifted two sets of old Scrabble games at various second hand stores here in TX, and bought a huge bag of tiles from an Etsy shop to fill in the missing pieces. I ended up with two complete Scrabble sets and a bunch of left over tiles for other projects. One completed Scrabble set went into our game closet, and the other became my art piece for Zach.

Zach loves games and I thought this would be a lovely tribute to him and our growing family to display in our home.

Supplies:

1. Scrabble board and complete set of tiles
2. Scotch restickable tabs- I used these so that I would be able to move words around in the future and add new names (future children?)
3. Scissors
4. Pencil and paper
5. Shadow box 16x20
6. Spray paint

Directions:

1. Set board up in an area where you can work on it and leave it up for longer periods of time. Decide on a theme and brainstorm words that you would want to incorporate. You can use various websites to help you think of words with whatever tiles you have left over.
   
2. Place words on board, adjusting as necessary to fit as many words on as possible, and using as many tiles as possible. When I had a grouping I liked and was done for the day, I would write down the words and arrangement in case it got bumped or the tiles accidentally moved.
   
3. Continue working until all tiles are used, or there are no other relevant words possible. Write down the final arrangement to use as a reference.
   
4. Using scissors cut each sticky tab into quarters to make four smaller squares. Attach one small square to the back of each tile and place tile carefully in place on the board to make your words. Press firmly to make sure it doesn't fall off later.
   
5. When all tiles are secured to the Scrabble board set aside. Take off the back of shadow box and spray paint color of choice for background. (I used black.) Let dry and repeat until covered evenly with nothing showing through.
   Note: You could also buy a extra large sheet of paper or cardboard and cut out a mat to put behind the Scrabble board to mount it on. Painting the back was easier and cheaper for me.
   
6. After the paint is very dry, use sticky tabs to mount the Scrabble board to the back of shadow box board. Press very firmly and use several sticky tabs. (The more the merrier!)
   
7. Stick any other leftover tiles around board with sticky tabs (or save to use in other projects). Make sure there is no dust or fingerprints on the inside of the glass and then close back of shadow box.
   
8. Hang shadow box up, and enjoy!

Found at Walmart.

Found at Hobby Lobby 50% off.

All the words.

Coat one of many.

Found at Walmart.

Add sticky tabs to back. (More than this! First attempt it fell off the mounting board.)

Leftover tiles added to edge of board for future use.

The final product!

I really enjoyed working on this project and making a homemade gift for Zach for Christmas. It was fun to solve the puzzle of finding words and making them fit. It is nice to have this as a reminder of our beautiful family, the goals we have, and the blessings promised.

I also look forward to using the rest of my Scrabble tiles for other projects in the future!


What words would you choose for your family Scrabble board?

Lucy At The Park

Lucy really enjoys going outside and especially loves swinging at the park. She could swing forever. My dream is to someday own an awesome porch swing for our backyard. Then Lucy and I can swing to our hearts content. 

Lucy swinging with her buddy from Nursery.

Library Book Sale: 2012

I love the annual library book sale! I'm always on the lookout for old favorite childhood books, awesome coffee table books (love me some Norman Rockwell to add to my growing collection), old copies of comic books, and new and interesting reads for youth to add to our personal library. 

My absolute favorite is volunteering to set up the day before. Not only can you browse the books before anyone else, but you get to keep an entire box of books for free. For freeeeee! An awesome deal if ever there was one. 

Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to volunteer this year, but I didn't mind paying the $24.25 for the box of books I did bring home. 

Atlas: $1.50,  Norman Rockwell: $12.00,  Norman Rockwell Illustrator: $4.00
Big Children's books: (4) $0.50 each = $2.00

Little children's books:  $0.25 each 

So many treasures!

Contact your local library and find out when their sale is, and then let me know what great finds you take home with you!


What favorite childhood books would you add to your library?






Ps.  If anyone finds any other tapes and books from Early World of Learning for cheap, hook a sister up and help make my dream come true. :)

Pho

This is my slightly adapted version of a Pho recipe from a friend. I had no idea what I was doing, but was 

very pleased with my first attempt! This Vietnamese noodle soup is the perfect meal on a cold day and once you figure out what you are doing, a simple and easy meal for any occasion. 

Now that I know how to successfully make Pho I can more easily lure family members into coming to Texas to visit me. 

Enjoy!

Pho (beef flavor)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

12 Cups of water

3 lbs Oxtail or other beef bones (I used ribs)

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

2 Tablespoons Pho soup paste

1 Bag of Pho seasonings tied up in mesh bag (pha lau)

2 Beef bouillon cubes (optional)

Pork meatballs (found in frozen foods section)

2 Bags of Rice Noodles (found in frozen foods section)

Cilantro 

Thai basil

Shrimp (found in frozen foods section)

Mae Ploy- sweet chili sauce

Other Ideas for toppings/condiments:

Thinly sliced round-eye beef

Thinly sliced sweet onions

Hoisin sauce

Siracha chili sauce

Mung bean sprouts

Directions:

1. Set frozen items out a few hours before hand to let thaw (or follow directions on back of each package on how to thaw). 

2. Bring 12 cups of water to a boil and add ox tail (or beef bones). Bring to a boil again and add Pho paste, chopped onion, and spices in mesh bag to water. 

3. Let it boil for 15 minutes then reduce heat to low and simmer for a long as you can, preferably 2.5 hours or more. Test flavor of broth. If taste is weak, add two beef bouillon cubes to broth for more robust flavor. If level of broth is too low from evaporation, add more water.

4. Skim off any floating fat and oil from the surface of broth, and allow broth to come to a rolling boil again before serving. Add thawed pork meatballs to broth to heat through.

5. When ready to assemble your noodle bowls, bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a separate pot then turn heat down to low. 

6. Have each person take their serving of uncooked noodles with salad tongs (or strainer) and put it in the hot water for about a minute. Then lift out cooked noodles (strain liquid back into the pot if necessary) and place noodles in bottom of their individual bowl. 

7. With cooked noodles in bowl, add shrimp and top with hot broth and pork meatballs. Distribute the hot broth evenly over meats and noodles to finish cooking and heating through. Add thai basil, cilantro, Mae Ploy and other sauces and toppings as desired. 

8. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Ribs added to boiling water.

For the broth.

Pho paste. 

Pho spice packet in mesh ball. 

Trying to get bones to fit in pot so that they are all submerged at the same time. You can also see the oil and fat rising to the top of the broth here. Don't forget to skim this oil off before serving!

Loosely chopped to fit in pot.

Rice noodles, Pork meatballs, and Shrimp.

Found at Asian Market. Let me know if you find these somewhere else!

Found at Asian Market.

Hot water to cook noodles in.

Pork meatballs added, oil and fat needing to be skimmed off the top. 

Thai basil.

Chopped cilantro.

Bowl of goodness.

Messy, but effective Pho buffet line.

Pho being enjoyed by all.

It was so good.  The only thing I would do differently next time would be to find ribs that had less fat on them so that there was less fat and oil to skim off the top of the broth before serving.


What other toppings or sauces would you add in? Let me know if you try it, and how it turns out!

Love

Just some things that bring a smile to my face.

First pony tail!

New bag