Finished Product: Birthday Calendar

Following through with a promise from a previous post, here are some photos of the birthday calendar I made, as well as the products and process listed below. Enjoy!

Photos

Products

- 1 wooden board, 1" x 6" x 20" (leftover from previous project) and sandpaper
- Acrylic Paint (blue, white, black), palette paper pad, masking tape, and brushes
- Alphabet stickers (leftover from wedding crafts, ha)
- Burlap "ribbon" (I can't find the product exactly online, but it was the same brand and packaged the same way as THIS product. It was in the party decorations section, and it was a thicker ribbon, for sturdiness) (~ $2.50)
- Small clothespins ($3.99 for 30) and thin marker or hefty pen
-Hot glue gun and glue

Process

1. Sand the board until desired smoothness (edges and faces)

2. Stencil the "birthdays" text. I would give you a specific process for this but I have a talent for being able to look at a font and replicate it fairly accurately, so that's what I did. Font I used was a classic Typewriter font. You could place stickers here if you'd like, but in that case I'd do it after step 3.

3a. For the stripe background, place long strips of masking tape roughly 3/4" apart. Paint one color and let it dry (I had to use several coats). Be sure to paint around the outlined text!
3b. Take off the masking tape and place it on the edge of the previously painted stripe, to give a barrier. Paint the blank stripes with your second color (again, may need to use several coats).

4. After the background dries, paint the sides (or leave, or paint the same as the stripes; there are a lot of options) and then paint the text outlines (Or use stickers. Options!). Let dry.

5. Measure out the spaces for the month labels. I placed mine 1.5 inches from the edge, and spaced them 1.25 inches apart. Place your stickers (the initial for each month).

6. Cut ribbon into 8 inch pieces (Or longer, or shorter if you have a small family. Options people!!). The burlap I used frayed when I cut it, so I sewed each edge with a zigzag stitch. Warm up the hot glue gun and place a pea sized dot on the backside of one end of the ribbon. Place that end of the ribbon underneath the month initial sticker, making sure it is perpendicular to the board's edge, so that it hangs straight. Press down on the ribbon so that the hot glue dries flat.

7. Cut another piece of ribbon to desired hanging length. Hot glue the ribbon to the back of the board. I placed the ends in the middle of the board and hot glued the ribbon from the middle to the top of the board (not done in the picture, which is why it hangs forward instead of flat).

8. The hard part! Write down the names of family members on one side of the clothes pin, and on the edge which clips, write the number of the person's birthday date. Clip the clothespin onto the appropriate month, and voila! A reminder of when people's birthdays are so that you don't forget them. The hubs is already using it to remind me of birthdays coming up!

Food Blog Recommendation: Budget Bytes

 Head on over to www.budgetbytes.com and check it out!

I have to say, when my husband showed me this website and said it looked like a good way to curb extra spending in the grocery category, I rolled my eyes at him. I feel like local grocery prices can vary so much, especially with in and out of season produce, local meat and dairy markets, etc. etc. that saying "this meal only costs $$ per serving" is kind of a gamble.

That being said, I browsed the recipes with him and many of them look pretty tasty. Even if the cost effectiveness of the meal is negated by local grocery price factors, or simply what we have available in the kitchen at the moment, the meals are pretty easy to make and are tasty. We've made a few recipes from their blog so far in the last few weeks. Tonight I made One Pot Chili Pasta, without the diced tomatoes and macaroni noodles (subbed in diced green chiles and egg noodles, because that's what we had in the pantry instead), and it was delicious. Simple to make, few directions, and the least amount of ingredients for the best amount of flavor. It's a good thing we both like the recipes, as I'm sure my husband will use this for his weekly dinner once school starts up again in the fall.

(Side note: I delegate a meal -or two, if it's that kind of week- to my husband every week, as a way I can feel like I have "extra time off" during the school year. He's great with a recipe! I recommend this strategy to all couples; the non-cooking individual should do some of the cooking every now and then. It builds up kitchen skills and also gives the cooking individual a break, but it also makes sure both parties are involved in the process of providing for each other. At least, that's how I see it. My hubs sees it as an adventure each week, although at first it was definitely more of a chore and I had to help quite a bit. Time and patience and a good source for recipes will cure that!)

A Little Patriotism

At 7:00pm (Eastern) on FOX is the FIFA Women's World Cup Final game, between Japan and the USA! I really think we've got a shot, the way this team has been playing the last few games, and I think the level of play will be fairly high! Here's some Women's World cup team statistics, information, and hype for you as the daily whatever. Enjoy! And Go USA!

News

• USA TODAY: United States vs. Japan, 2015 Women's World Cup final (there is an autoplaying videa, FYI)

• FIFA: Match overview

• FOX Sports: History between the two teams (There is quite a competitive history!)

• FIFA: Interview with Abby Wambach (The most senior/veteran player on the team)

Stats/Roster

•  ussoccer.com: Latest Roster

• FIFA: Top 15 goals in Women's World Cup history, as voted by users

• FIFA: "33.3 - Japan have scored 33.3 per cent of their goals in the first quarter of an hour of their games in Canada and a further 33 per cent in the last 15 minutes. By contrast, the Americans have notched a third of their efforts between the 45th and 60th minutes and another third between the 60th and 75th – two periods in which the Asians have drawn blanks."

Images

Source: ussoccer.com

Source: ussoccer.com

Source: ussoccer.com

Species Being

Post, Part 1: This gif of a dog getting a crazy birthday surprise! Had to share that today.

Post, Part 2: Some philosophy

I have a sore throat today, so I'm ending my day with my home-remedy for sore throats: Whiskey tea. The recipe is easy- put Jack Daniels in your lemon tea. Boom. As I sit and sip my tea, I'm reflecting on my day. Today made me remember some readings I did in college. I was a Sociology major and obviously we read a lot of Marx, Weber, etc. I remember, while reading a series of selections written by Karl Marx, that there was one philosophy of his that really resonated with me: the idea of "species being" or, what it really means to be a human. I think that reading was paired with several readings about labor and social classes, etc., but what I really took away from that particular set of readings is that being human is really about what you DO with your human-ness.

Before I get too crazy over here, I'll just paraphrase: I interpreted the readings to mean that we feel human when we do things that make us feel human. To each their own, here, because some people feel the need to create; others feel a need to serve, some to think and expand their thinking, some to love and be engrossed in social activity, and still others feel myriad other needs in order to feel human. I am a "create" person- I really like producing things which make me feel my time was well spent. I specifically enjoy producing things that give off positive aesthetic vibes, such as baked goods and useful crafts (hence the darn quilt I've been trying to finish forever...). I feel VALUE in the time spent on those activities, and the finished products give me something to feel positive about. I also feel human in service, which is why I teach, but that's for another day.

The point of this post is really that I am VERY much enjoying my summer schedule, where I can impact a child's education...for a half day, and then go home and craft. Or nap. Or blog. Or whatever I put on my to-do list in the morning. It's been a rather immensely relaxing 2 weeks off school so far, and I'm making the most of it!

Here's to being human! *clinks whiskey tea cup with empty water glass nearby*

Getting There

Today's activity brought to you by Pinterest, where I'm inspired to DO things in my "spare time":

-I have a terrible headache. Whatever, I'll just make these shortbread cookies. (Baking challenge: Unusual ingredient)

-I still have to finish the ties on my t-shirt quilt so I can post about that. Whatever, I'll just start a new project: family Birthday calendar! (I'll post a finished picture of mine. That image is just my inspiration)

-Birthday calendar reminds me my brother's birthday is this week. So. I wonder if Pinterest has a solution for that too...

A Blog Title!

So I've changed the name of the blog! Finally!

I think I may stick with this one. Changing the name, changing the direction a little bit too. I realized that I'm not posting because I keep thinking I need mountains of content to post. I need stories, pictures, full length narratives or recipes or ideas...and then I don't post because it will take so long to get that all typed, edited, and just right. So, until I have more time/stories/full length narratives, or take this blog anywhere serious, I'm going to change direction and make it my goal to just post SOMETHING daily. Whatever stands out. A link, a photo, a story, maybe a longer post now and then. Who knows.

Today's thought to share: My entry into a local brewery's baking contest to promote a new chocolate stout

You're looking at a prize winning setup there. :) 

Here's the process/recipe I followed: 

Step 1- Make the caramels. I used this recipe, http://butterwithasideofbread.com/2012/07/holiday-baking-homemade-caramels.html 

Note: it makes a WHOLE pan...a lot of caramels. You could wrap them and save them for later! Or give as gifts. Or eat them, with the leftover chocolate from Step 5. Mmmm. 

​Step 2- Make the brownies. You can use a box! I used this recipe: ​http://moneysavingmom.com/2013/10/ultimate-double-chocolate-brownies.html and that is probably my new go-to brownie recipe. 

Step 3- When everything has cooled, cut the caramel into squares, slightly smaller than 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch. I rolled them into balls after cutting, then you can see if they are too big to wrap brownie around. 

Step 4- I used forks to smash up the brownies in a bowl, kind of like you would do with cake if you were making cake pops. You should end up with a bowl full of small crumbs. Grab a small amount to just fill the center of your palm and place the caramel in the center, mushing the brownie around it into a ball shape. Place on parchment paper and refrigerate or freeze for at least 30 minutes . 

Step 5- I melted 1 bag of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips in a double boiler with 1.5 tablespoons of shortening and dipped the brownie ball in. When they were cooling I sprinkled course sea salt on top! You can leave them to set or you can put them in the fridge another 20 minutes to set. 

A Series of Lists

      I completely blame hockey playoffs!! The Caps made it to the end of the 2nd round and that meant every other day for a month I was watching a hockey game in my spare (ha) time. Making it to the 3rd round would have been history in the making and I wanted to be along for every minute of every game.

Things that suffered on account of time spent hockey during the playoffs: 

Hockey memes are okay [source]

- keeping up with baking challenges
- grading student papers
- social relationships
- level of house cleanliness
- any and all exercise
- maybe personal hygiene (but only on the weekends...)




     I also blame the end of the school year! We've got 2 weeks left until summer break. So much to do, so little time. Last week I was at school every day until 6 or 6:30, which means I'm fried when I get home. Any blog post I'd have written would have been utter gibberish last week. And the week before. Come to think of it, this might also be gibberish...

Teacher memes are great  [source]

Things that continue to suffer because it's the end of the school year:
- keeping up with baking challenges
- social relationships
- level of house cleanliness
- most exercise
- maybe personal hygiene (but only on the weekends...)



I'm keeping this short:
- in the hopes that I write another one soon
- to try and reclaim some sort of exercise regimen (I'm supposed to meet people to play soccer in 40 minutes)
- to build suspense...


Here are some posts I hope to write about in the upcoming weeks: 
- I'm competing in a local baking competition for a brewery! It's really nothing major, just for fun, but I'm fairly competitive so I'm obviously playing to win (the keg)
- My summer job is pretty cool, and I'm being trained in something new this year so I hope to describe that a bit
- I need to do some painting this summer and want to share those
- Summer adventures in general!!
- I WILL finish that d%&$ t-shirt quilt I've been working on for 2 years now (actually). I plan to share my process as a moderate sewer who tried to get way too fancy, and how it all turns out


      Stay tuned! I promise I won't be so delinquent now that hockey playoffs are over.