Lego qualifying tournament

Isaac belongs to a school club where they program lego robots. There's a bunch of other stuff that goes into it too.  This year the theme is safe food. The boys decided that they would speak about keeping flies off of food.  They recently had a qualifying round.  They were kind of the underdogs, they're the youngest team, they've only met one year, and have very little funding.  

 At the practice table.

 The team showed their team spirit by spray painting their hair blue.  Isaac's hair is pretty dark and it was hard to see.

 In this group challenge the team members had to figure out how to get a huge rubber band into a small circle on the floor, they had to stretch it out and all let go at the same time.  There actually isn't a right answer, it was just for the judges to see how well they work together and how they problem solve.  It was pretty interesting to watch.

 Here they are telling the judges what their solutions to removing flies (a mechanical fly trap).  They won an award because they did a lot of community outreach with Children's hospital, and retirement homes to share their findings and their robots.

 The actual robot tournament, they came in fifth here.  The top eight, overall got to go to the district 'meet' in December.  The programming portion was only part of the scoring.  And because tech-ten did well in the other categories, as well as the programming they got to go on.

Yay, Tech Ten!

The 'passport' for the district meet.

my funny husband.....again

So I didn't get our Halloween skeleton, who we've named Jack, back into the crawl space quickly enough.  One night I was super tired and crashed like at 8pm and crashed hard!  So Jason thought it would funny to pose Jack next to me and take pictures.  I was so tired I didn't even wake up.

I did wake up later, however, after Jason put Jack away, came to bed, and did that laughing so hard he was crying thing.....He told me why he was laughing....and of course I laughed too.  I'm just happy I didn't wake up next to Jack.

finally organized my desk and thirty-one party

Organizing my desk

It took me awhile but my desk is finally organized.  It feels so good to have all that clutter off and only the things that have meaning are left.

 When we were designing our kitchen I thought these little cubbies were so cute to have.  Now I've realized that they are pretty useless.  Instead of using them for mail I decorated them.

 These are some antique nursing textbooks my mother-in-law gave me for my graduation from nursing school.

 I bought this camera in Jr High....years and years ago when Jr. High was Jr. High and not Middle School.  I saved up allowence, birthday money and babysitting money for almost a year.  I used it all through high school and college.  Loved that camera.

 We got this little computer witch in Spain.  They had little 'brujas' for everything.  This one was for technology. It was supposed to be for Jason but I think I need it for school more then he does.

 It doesn't look great but the clutter from my desk is appropriately stashed in here.  Also stole the idea off of Pinterest of using cork board inside the cabinet doors for extra space for that stuff you need access to.

 The family...the dragon fly in back is a project Jake did in school.  In this picture Isaac has a bad black eye that he was strangely proud of.  My friend Martha took a picture of him and put in in a frame that says, Live, Love, Laugh....it makes me laugh and love when I see this.  Jason donned this silly hat at a birthday dinner at The Fort, he's a goof ball and he looks so young here (pre-children).  And Jake's baby picture, he looks so sweet.

 More photos of family and friends.

 I love what this says, "I have always been jealous of those whose path appears clear.  Mine has a tendency to keep changing"  So my life!

 This was one of those pictures I grew up with and I loved.  My mom was de-cluttering and gave it to me.  I still like looking at it.  Have no idea why, but that's the wonderful thing about art, even though there's 'good art' (and I can't really tell what's 'good' or 'bad') there's also art that speaks to you and this does.

 Just makes me laugh....the kids always remind their dad of this too.

 Stocking stuffer from a few years back...I'm pretty sure the 'candy' gel inside is as gross as blood right now, but thought it was so cute it became a decoration instead of a snack.

 Ahhhh, my little nephew Max.  As well as a thank you letter from Isaac.  And a funny card with canisters saying flour, sugar coffee and prozac, prozac's the biggest.

Thirty-One Party

I have a friend who is starting her own business, selling Thirty-One bags.  If you haven't heard or seen this stuff, check out her website at Thirty One.

 Mostly it's an excuse to get together....and eat....and talk...and laugh.

 and to try out recipes I found on Pinterest (yes, it's a sickness, I know)  This was some yummy crab dip, so going to make this again.  You can find the recipe on this blog

 Oh and the cookies....so easy and soooo yummy.

 chocolate rolo cookies were so easy to make....like ridiculously easy!  You can find recipe here

Little mini fruit pizzas  aren't these so cute.  The picture on the flickr website is so much cuter, but they were yummy and well, cute!

Actually Making Something off of Pinterest

So Pinterest is my new favorite time-suck-website.  I 'pin' so many different ideas but don't actually go about doing any of it.  So I gave myself a challenge and decided to try one new recipe a week off of what I 'pinned' on Pinterest.  Here it goes.

Bubble Up Enchilada Bake

 This was a Weight Watchers recipe that didn't taste diety (stupid word-check, diety is so a word) at all.  Because I can't leave recipes alone, I added 1/4 cup of roasted red peppers, 2, roasted green chilis, one chopped onion and a can of mild rotel tomatoes (drained).   Super easy, will so make this again.  You can find the recipe on this yummy blog.

chocolate chip cheese cake cookies

 These sounded better then they actually tasted.  I did use low-fat cream cheese and that might have been a mistake.  The flavor was good, and frankly even though I didn't like them as much as some other chocolate chip cookies, it didn't keep me from eating them.

steak and mushroom pot pie

 This recipe called for individual pot pies and the pictures are so much more appetizing on blog.  But this was still way yummy!  The hubsters really liked it.  The hardest thing about this was doing the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit (356 F, by the way, we just went to 350 and baked until crust was golden).  Thank goodness for nine year old sons who just had that in math class.

Creamy White Chicken Artichoke Lasagna

 What can I say, this was so our favorite! This one came from a Kraft recipe site and not someone's blog. I used rotisserie chicken. Super easy, comfort food (on steroids).

Bacon in the Oven

 There are lots of 'pins' from various websites about baking bacon.  I used this blog's technique. Easy-Peasy, will be doing this again.

Roast Turkey Cuban Sandwhich

My pictures suck, anyhow, this was so yummy,  although it's hard to press down in the panini grill because it's so thick and the cheese slides. This blogger guy is from Canada.  So because Jason and I think we're so funny we were saying things like, "Say hello to my leeetle  frrrriend" (spanish accent) Hoser" and "Next year in Havana, ey"  It's got the essence of a Cuban and very satisfying, but alas the best way to get a Cuban is in Miami (and maybe Cuba, but I haven't actually been there).

I didn't get pictures of these other recipes but here are the links and what I thought, because really you're here to read my opinion...right?

Hawaiin BBQ chicken  -- sounds better then it was, I was hoping for that sweet-tangy thing, but it just didn't work for us.  Very cute blog though and I'm sure it's yummy for some and super super easy.

Slow cooker Tikki Masala -- yummy, I'm not a big fan of Tikki Masala, I actually enjoy Curry a little bit more. This was pretty good though.  For a crock pot recipe it was a little more labor intensive then I expected, but the results are worth it.

Now, I just need to try some of those craft ideas I've pinned....I can't wait until I'm done with my Master's, then I'll have lots of free time!

Come find me on Pinterest.....

honey do project almost completed

Family Message Center

I got so sick of telling everyone what's for dinner, like 500 times and where they need to be and when, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a family message center.  When we remodeled our kitchen I didn't leave much space for hanging stuff because I wanted tons of cabinets (oh, darn...right?) so the pantry door was so the obvious place to go. A couple of people I talked to about it, thought that was kinda crazy...so I stopped talking about it and begged hubby to just do it.  And he did.  He's a great hubby.  We bought some moulding, a thin wood board and a door handle for the chalk (that part hasn't been done yet, thus the 'almost' of the almost done).

Somehow this part of our kitchen is becoming a work station of sorts.  This isn't all for the chalkboard project.

I love this stuff....Didn't even have to buy any because we have it around -- yeah, I'm cool like that.

Jason put up the wood board with screws, the kind that can go into hollow doors. Then taped and started painting.  He and I (notice that, I do sometimes help with these projects I beg Jason to do) alternated painting, we did four coats.

Then the trim.  We just chose simple wood trim, the kind that's already white, actually I'm not sure it's actually wood, but whatever.

Nail holes and edges were caulked and we still need to paint the trim and attach the 'holder' for the chalk

We found a door handle like above and then Jason'll add it to our chalkboard. (above picture was from an Etsy shop and this picture is making the rounds on Pinterest -- which is where I got the idea -- because I have no original ideas, I just recognize good ideas when I see them).  I think I might get some vinyl lettering for the days of the week.  I just don't have awesome chalkboard/chalk penmanship.

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And now, theoretically, the kids (and Jason) can just take a look at the chalkboard to know what's for dinner, or who needs to be where when.  Yesterday, Isaac asked me what was for dinner, out of habit I told him and he said, "Mom, you're supposed to say, 'go to the blackboard'".  He's a genius.

Linking up Here:

Remodelaholic Fridays
Home Stories A-Z
Thrifty Decorating
Organize and Decorate Anything
Home is Where My Story Begins
a bowl full of lemons

Fall Break

Red Rocks

So excited to be a school nurse and have fall break off at the same time the kiddos do.  Although, I'm still in school (Master's in Nursing --- why?) I was still able to carve some time out for family and friends.  Jason took one of the days off and we took a family hike to Red Rock's Canyon 

 Fun fact...Red Rocks are relatively newer then the Rocky Mountains, but 'made' from the no longer existing mountain range that existed before the Rocky Mountains....as far as geological timing, I can't remember....I guess reusing and repurposing isn't a new thing.

 You'd think running the seats at the amphitheater would have tired them out...but no.

 Lunch at the visitor center grill.  Not bad. Frankly, my favorite part of the day....I so need to rework my priorities!

Coffee with the Gals

Once a week some of the neighborhood ladies meet for coffee.  It was hit or miss with me when I was a dialysis nurse and now it's mostly miss.  It was a nice treat to be able to meet with them.  Because we had a teacher in the group that didn't get a fall break (different district) but did have a couple days off, we had an extra coffee day at my house.  I even made brunch.

Pumpkin Carving 

Fun for the entire family.  Even Jake, my "I'm-too-cool-for-anything-my-parents-think-is-fun" grudgingly contributed to the evening.

Gearing Up for Sea-leaguers Weekend at Easter Seals.

Jake belongs to the Sea Cadets, junior leaguers.  The last weekend of break they went to the Easter Seals camp where they helped close it down (in the spring they go up and help set the camp up) as part of their community service.  They also get to run around and play navy stuff.  Not sure I'm supposed to say play, because they take it all seriously.

Also completed a paper for my finance class (ugh finance, I'd like to say necessary evil, but I'm not convinced it was really necessary) and a paper and PowerPoint for my leadership class.  Also got through the clutter on half my desk....it was quite the job! All in all, it was a nice week off