It's here! The first day of Creative Soup's Back to Basics Sketch Class!

I am so excited to share the new fall class at {Creative Soup}! 

There will be 12 original sketches, and several layouts to go along with each sketch. These will be provided in .pdf form, so you can print out the sketches and carry them around with you!

Here is {Sketch #1}:



Make sure to check in every Tuesday and Friday for a new sketch!  And please share here when you use a sketch!

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Today was day 2 of school, so it is a crockpot meal day!  I just found a new site, Crock Pot Girls, and they have several recipes as well as tips and tricks to crockpot cooking.  It's a new site, but they are quickly getting things together and it is already looking great.

Tonight we had Easy Chicken and Dumplings.  I changed it up a bit because I used what I already had in the house, so this is how I did it.

Ingredients:
4  FROZEN chicken breasts
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
clove of garlic (pressed)
1 can Grand Jr. Layers biscuits

Here is the recipe:
In your crockpot put 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts FROZEN.  Pour 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of chicken broth over the chicken.  Add garlic.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
Take out the chicken and pull apart (will be really tender and will come right apart.)
Put chicken back in and add 1 can of refridgerator biscuits and cut into halves.  Drop in one by one into the chicken mix and ‘dunk’ it to make sure it gets covered. Cook for another 30 mins to an hour on HIGH.
Dish out & enjoy.

I think next time I will use less liquid.  The gravy was a little more soupy.  Although that worked out best for Julia because she was able to grab the chicken pieces out without a lot of gravy covering it up.

And I, of course, forgot to take a picture because I was hungry and just wanted to eat!

First day of school!

Today was my first day back to school!  This is my final semester at GRCC and I'm so excited to finally have my associates degree.  I will be going on for my bachelors, but to have something as a reward for all my hard work so far will be nice.

I'm taking three classes this semester, even though I only need one more credit to complete my degree.  I have two sociology classes, SO 251 - Principles of Sociology and SO 260 - Race and Ethnicity, as well as EC 252 - Micro Economics.  I have taken SO 251 and EC 252 once before, but I didn't get the grades I wanted and I needed at least 9 credits to be considered full time so I thought it was a perfect time to retake them and increase my GPA.  The first time I took SO 251 was right after I had Julia and I took it online.  It was not a good class to take online.  Since it is a class that I need for my Social Work degree, and since I enjoy Sociology I decided I would like to take it over and learn the material better this time now that I have more time to focus on school.

Here's to another semester closer to my goals!!!

Living Social's 365 Things To Do in Grand Rapids

I just found out about a new feature on the {Living Social Grand Rapids} site!  They have a list going of 365 things to do in Grand Rapids.  I am excited to try these things out.  There are several places that I haven't ever been to.  What a great way to find out about cool places.  I have lived here all of my life, so it's easy to feel like I have done it all.  There are many times where I want something fun to do, but I am only able to come up with the same old things.  Now I will have a whole list of things to try out instead of repeating the same old thing.

Here are a few that I want to try out right away...
#18 Best way to treat yourself to dessert!

Find a multitude of handcrafted desserts sure to please any sweet tooth at Martha's Vineyard. Locally owned and operated by a knowledgeable staff, Martha's has everything from chocolate truffles to fruity cheesecake and bars, sure to alleviate a stressful day at the office.

Martha's Vineyard
Neighborhood: Heritage Hill

#20 Best place for artistic fashion and flair

Whether you have a love of vintage advertising, an obsession with Pantone red 186c, or a yearning for striking gems, Lamb can meet your craving for cool. Check this shop out for life's accoutrements.

Lamb
Neighborhood: East Hills

#42 Best gourmet hot dog (If you know me, you know I love a good hotdog!!)

Traditional beef hot dogs, turkey dogs, cajun sausages, and even vegan dogs can be topped with dozens of ingredients at Jonny B'z. Chili, Amish relish, sport peppers, sauerkraut, and many others are added to your dog at your request and nestled in the grilled bread Jonny B'z uses in place of buns.

Jonny B'z
Neighborhood: Heritage Hill

#51 Best place to shop for your kitchen

At Art of the Table, how a table looks is as important as what’s served on it. Everything you need to offer up the best dinner parties, gourmet foods, and dining accouterments can be found here, and vendors even occasionally come in to offer samples of their products.

Art of the Table
Neighborhood: Heritage Hill

#81 Best grocery

Whether you are looking for fresh produce, well-butchered meats, potent spices, or fine beer and wine, you can find it all at Kingma's. This friendly neighborhood grocer aims to provide the best foods at the best prices, and it always hits that target.

Kingma's
Neighborhood: Creston

#92 Most imaginative childrens shop

Encouraging children to use their minds instead of allowing television to use it for them is a quest The Pretend Store is devoted to. The store emphasizes re-using and recycling many everyday objects that children use in pretend play and fostering imaginations while instilling socially responsible values.

The Pretend Store
Neighborhood: Eastown

#103 Best vintage cache

The offerings at Eastown Antiques range from the rare to the common, but everything harkens back to bygone days. Furniture, clothing, jewelry, linens, pottery, silver, and glassware can be found in Eastown Antiques' aisles.

Eastown Antiques
Neighborhood: Eastown

#119 Best locally-made crafts

Minty Keen is an eco-friendly retail shop and studio featuring handmade-in-Michigan gifts from local artists, vintage decor, and fresh flowers. There is something for anyone with a knack for crafting, vintage goodies, or just quirky souvenirs.

Minty Keen
Neighborhood: Downtown

#151 Best place to handmade art

The Fulton Street ARTisans Market is a group of artists, artisans, and crafters that get together on Sundays during the summer to sell handmade art at the Fulton Street Farmers' Market. The goal is to make a traditional open market that is affordable and inclusive, increasing the City of Grand Rapids' visibility on the emerging artist and artisan scene.

Fulton Street ARTisans Market
Neighborhood: Fulton Heights

#171 Most comprehensive massage treatments

Kymarah Massage has everything from Swedish to deep tissue massage on its menu, specializing in neck and back pain. Located in Monroe Center, the business is in the perfect spot to ease tension during your lunch break, and competitive pricing makes the services affordable.

Kymarah Massage
Neighborhood: Downtown

#178 Best Sunday brunch

Brandywine is open every day of the week, but it's the special Sunday brunch menu that really drives customers in. The griddles are kept hot to serve up potato scrambles, smoked chicken and black bean hash, bottomless cups of coffee, and more.

Brandywine
Neighborhood: Eastown

The list only goes through #212 right now, so I will be sure to check it out daily and see what other good finds there are!

Cooking up a storm!

Today when I put Julia down for her morning nap, I decided that I would make good use of that time and get some meals ready for the week and a few more things in the freezer for when the school chaos begins.  First up was mini meatloaves.  You can use any recipe that you normally use to make meatloaf, but I used this {one}.  Then I cooked them in a muffin pan so that they can be frozen in individual servings and I can just pull out what we need for one meal and re heat them for dinner.  All the hard work is done!  The other meal I made for the week was {Shepard Pie}.  So that is two meals ready for this week and three meals for the freezer. (Meatloaves are enough for three meals.)  That will help me to stay on track of cooking dinner each night even when I've been in school all day or when I have a lot of homework to keep up with.

The other thing I made for Julia and I as a treat today was {35-second Chocolate Cake}.  A friend of mine pinned it yesterday, so when I was craving chocolate today I decided to try it out.  The best part, these are ingredients everyone usually has on hand!  It reminded me of the new microwave desserts by Betty Crocker, only MUCH cheaper.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 tablespoons Splenda Granular or Whey Low powdered (I used regular sugar since I don't use these.)

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon  instant coffee crystals – optional, but brings out the chocolaty YUM!

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon oil

Drop of vanilla extract

Directions:

Spray a coffee cup or ramekin with vegetable cooking spray.  In the cup combine the flour, Splenda, cocoa powder, baking powder, coffee crystals and salt until no lumps remain.  Stir in the milk, olive oil, and vanilla until smooth.

Bake in the microwave on high for 35 seconds.  You may need to add 5 more seconds (maybe 5 more after that, depending on your microwave)… but don’t be tempted to overcook or it will be rubbery!  It should be moist on the bottom and will continue cooking as it sets.

Serve with chocolate sauce…a sprinkle of powdered sugar…whipped cream or eat plain as a brownie.

Here is what our looked like out of the microwave.

Here is Julia taking her first bite.

And I think this face says, "YUMMMY!!!"

Welcome to the "Fun in the Sun" Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Creative Soup "Fun in the Sun" Crop and Blog Hop. We all decided to get together and have blog hop with a twist! Each member will have a part of a recipe to make a layout. Go around to each of the blogs in the hop, and you'll have all the instructions for a great challenge! Put at least 6 of the recipe elements on a layout/project, and link it back to the challenge thread {here}. All challenges are due August 27th by 11:59 pm EST.

My recipe element is to use bright colors on a dark background.  Take a look at Tina's layout, for a great example of this.

This layout is from the {8.8 Get Random - Mix and Match} challenge.


Here is the list of participants in the hop and links to their blogs; up next is {Marsha}!

Tina:  http://adogslife-thirteen.blogspot.com/
Jenifer: http://heldscraptive.blogspot.com/
Kim: http://randomsnippetsofasupermomintraining.blogspot.com/
Marsha: http://www.ordinarymoments-marsha.blogspot.com/
Katie: http://scissorsspatulasandsneakers.blogspot.com/
Dayna: http://daynahoward.typepad.com/blog/
Jenny: http://www.scrappinjen-partyoffive.blogspot.com/
Mara: http://studiolorange.blogspot.com/

And if you happen to get lost, remember you can always go back to the {original challenge thread}!

Guest Blogger! (and a fun announcement!)

I had the honor of guest blogging over at {Boerman Ramblings} today!  I met Chrissy when I attended a Girls Night Out at littlePOSH Boutique this summer.  She is an amazingly crafty lady, and really a sweet girl.  After meeting her, I became a blog and Etsy (she has the cutest store {simply created}!) follower.  Chrissy and her family are taking some time away before they get ready to start the school routine, so she asked a few fellow bloggers to do a guest post on her blog while she is away.  I was so excited when she picked me to post!

You can see my post {here}.  I hope you will head over and check it out and follow Chrissy's blog while you're there!

Now for my fun announcement...

I have decided to open an Etsy shop!  I love Etsy and can easily get lost there for hours looking around.  Earlier this month, I decided that I wanted to make a few things to sell at craft shows for the holidays this year.  I was so worried about making a lot and having it all ready, so I thought it might be nice to start now so I can make things as I have time and have enough stuff to have a booth later in the fall.  I started working on a few repurposed vintage children's books that I turned into journals.  While I was working on it, I figured I could put them on Etsy while I was waiting for the craft shows!  So, with that I opened {REdiscoveredWORD}! 

My shop will be projects that I create by repurposing items that would otherwise be tossed out.  I love the idea of giving something new life!  I hope you will take a look at my shop.  Feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you think or ideas for things you would like to see!

I've been scrapping...

...but I can't share quite yet!  (Sorry to be a tease.)  It feels good to be scrapping again after the "move."  While I still don't have my craft room set up, I do have my scrappy stuff all sorted out so I can grab a few things and scrap on the dining room table while Julia is napping.  I have been working on some fun things that will be happening at Creative Soup.  First up is our "Fun in the Sun Crop" happening this weekend starting August 20 and running through August 27.  We are doing things a little different this time around.  With the end of summer coming, we know that weekends are pretty busy for most people.  We will be releasing all challenges at noon EST on Saturday and everyone will have until the 27th to get them all completed and uploaded.  We want this crop to be fun and no pressure!  Let us know what you think of this format.

The next thing going on is our FREE quarterly class!  This quarter will be a sketch class.  K has created 12 fun, original sketches.  We will have many great examples of how to use the sketches as well.  She will be providing each sketch in PDF format for those of you that like to be able to print them out for your sketch books too.  Here is a sneak peek at one of the great sketches...

So, as you can see, our CT has been very busy!  We still have our Mojo Monday challenges issued every Monday as well.  Hope to see you playing along with all of the fun the next few weeks!

August 10 on 10

For the last couple of months I have seen my friends posting a 10 on 10 each month.  So, this month I decided to try it!  You can find more information about it here.  I have more than 10 pictures though since I wake up before the sun.  So I have a 16 on 10 instead! ;)

6:30am - Lou woke up late.  Rushed morning, but I got his coffee pot set right!

7:30am - Diet Coke (my coffee) and computer time.

8:30am - Uploading pictures to be printed.  90 pictures!!!

9:30am - Took Hexe outside to play fetch with her tennis ball.  Problem with that is she likes to fetch, but doesn't always like to bring the ball back to me!

10:30am - Julia FINALLY woke up!  I can't believe she slept this late. 

11:30am - A quick trip to Meijer for diapers, Diet Coke, dog food for Bear, and a few groceries.

12:30pm - A stop at Walgreens to pick up the pictures I had printed.  I learned that if you print 90 pictures, they give you a box.  I hope to never be that behind in printing pictures again!

1:30pm - Sorting out pictures to give to the family.

2:30pm - I forgot to take a picture!  Julia had just woken up from her nap so I was giving her lunch before her Busia can to get her.

3:30pm - Working on some layouts for K's sketch class at Creative Soup.

4:30pm - Still scrapping!

5:30pm - Trying out a tutorial Mara shared to make my own bakers twine! (Oh and yes, that's 3 hours of uninterrupted scrap time you are witnessing!)

6:30pm - Another layout!  That makes 3 layouts and one was a 2 pager!  It felt great to have some me time that didn't involve cleaning, organizing, or unpacking!

7:30pm - Lou using the "Slap Chop" to make his relish.  Pickles + Jalapenos + Olive = Amazing Relish!

8:30pm - Playing before bed!  Lou is playing Zombies, Julia is taking all the pillows off the couch to use on the floor, and I get to watch it all in amazement that it's my little family!

9:30pm - Julia is sleeping, now time for Hexe to go to bed!

10:30pm - Laying in bed watching MasterChef!  Good Night!

August Snapshot Scavenger Hunt at Creative Soup!

We're having a photo scavengerhunt at Creative Soup this month!  Come on over and play along!

(And taking these photos will give you some great stuff to use for K's September class that you won't want to miss!)

Join us! Creative Soup

Julia's One Year Photos (and a few family shots)

I found our photographer, Kerry Lee Photography, through a cousin.  I went to her for Julia's 6 month photos and fell in love!  She is great with kids and really laid back.  Julia and I both felt comfortable and it made for amazing pictures.  Well, we went back for Julia's one year photos and Kerry amazed me again.  I can barely get Julia to sit still for five minutes, but Kerry just went with it and let Julia run around and got beautiful pictures.  I think it might have something to do with the fact that she is the mom of two boys (and soon a sweet girl)!

Here they are!  Julia at one year...

Just look at those chubby legs!  Melts my heart!!!



And of course she had to show off her "Scrunchie Face!"

We also got a couple of the three of us...

Once a Month Cooking...

Once a month cooking (OAMC) is something I have wanted to try for a while now.  I think it would work out well for our family size and our busy schedules to have some meals ready in the freezer to pull out and throw in the oven.  I have a hard time cooking for 2 adults and a toddler.  We always have leftovers and we are not good about eating them before they go bad.  I think cooking with the intentions of saving some for later meals would help us save money.  We wouldn't be throwing food away and we would have dinner ready to go in a pinch instead of running out for food.

Here are some of the recipes I want to try:
Mini Meatloaves
Chicken Chow Mein
Cheesy Rotini
Corn Flake Potato Casserole
Asparagus Casserole
Turkey & Corn Tortellini Soup (looks great for Thanksgiving leftovers!)
Seafood Pasta Casserole
Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken
Pizza Pasta Casserole
Chicken Kiev
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken and Dumplings
Pea Soup
French Toast (homemade then cooked in the toaster instead of boxed!)
Hot Sub Sandwiches
Mashed Potatoes (freeze in serving sizes, great idea!)
Shepard's Pie
Stuffed Peppers
Mac & Cheese
Pizza Bagels
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (great idea for going out of the house for lunches)
Ham & Cheese Sandwiches

My goal is to start slow.  I will try out some of these recipes and do a make one freeze one plan.  That way I will start my freezer meal stockpile as well as save money by freezing extras instead of throwing them away.

If you have any good freezer recipes, please share!

A little crazy around here!

The moving is underway and things are a bit crazy around here!  It all started last week.  My parents started staying at their new house and we brought Hexe (oh yeah, the dog's new name is Hexe) home on Monday.  She is doing pretty well adjusting to life here.  She is a VERY loyal dog.  She doesn't leave my side if she can help it.  It's pretty cute, but there are times where I wish I could just go throw something in the trash or go to the bathroom without her following me.  It's kind of like having two of Julia around here!  She is great with Julia though.  She puts up with Julia "petting" her and climbing on her with out even batting an eye.  We have been pretty lucky with that.  I think it's because she knows that if she is nice to Julia, she will get bits of food thrown to her from the high chair every time Julia eats!

This is what a typical meal time looks like with these two!  It might not be the best behavior, but Hexe is really nice when she takes the food and we all know Julia doesn't miss a meal, so I'm not worried about her not eating. 

Another thing to change now that I am a dog owner is that I get up around 6am!  Hexe doesn't like to be left alone.  I think it's from being a shelter dog and a loyal German Shepard.  That means that I have to get up with her when Lou leaves for work.  It has it's benefits though.  As I sit here writing this at 8:56 am, Julia is quietly asleep, I have done the dishes, dinner is in the crockpot, I have checked my email, I picked out paint colors for the living room, kitchen and bathroom, and I am making a blog post without having to stop to do any of the loads of stuff I normally have to do in a day.  It's really nice!

Yum, beef pot roast!  And now I don't have to think about what I am going to make for dinner tonight.  I am also able to fall asleep before 2am.  We will see how this 6am thing is going for me in another month, but for now I am enjoying my peace and quiet.

Wordless Wednesday

We adopted a new family member!

I have wanted to be able to have a dog for quite a few years.  Lou and I decided that it would be best to wait until we had our own house so we didn't have to worry about renting a place that allowed dogs.  I knew that getting a dog was necessary when I saw how happy Julia was around dogs.  We have been looking online for a while and we found a black German Shepard on petfinder.com that we were both interested in.  Today we went out to an adoption event at Petco to see her and loved her.  So, we filled out the application and adopted her!

Without further ado, I introduce our doggy!  She's an 8 month old German Shepard.  She is still in need of her rabies shot and to be spayed.  We will get her on Monday the 18th.  I'm so excited to get her home and really get to know her and let her have her "furever" home!  And that means we have a little over a week to come up with a name for her.  Her name now is Koda, but neither Lou or I like that.  I am thinking I want a German name for her, but I haven't found the right one yet.  I will have to keep thinking and looking around for ideas!

Color Schemes...

For the first time EVER I get to completely decorate a house and paint the walls what ever color I want!  I think it's going to be the best, yet most difficult, thing about making our house truly OURS!  We are purchasing my parents house, so to make it ours instead of my parents, I really want to make things my style.  

I'm thinking I want to get grey carpet in the living room/dining room.  As I've been trying to decide how I want to do the rest of the room I keep coming back to photos of grey, white, and shades of blue!

I'm loving this with the dark brown being black instead.  I might want the blue to be a little brighter, but this is a good starting place.

And this picture had just sucked me right in!  I love the arrangement above the couch, and the fact that the couch has the chaise that I want, I'm really loving this!

When I first started thinking about a couch, I envisioned a white slipcovered couch.  Then I read a lot of blog posts about the amount of washing is required and began to second guess that idea.  After seeing this grey couch I think this might be a better idea for a family with a one year old and wanting a dog!

And then there is this... First, zebra upholstery!  I think I am going to try something like this in the black/white on my dining chairs. (That I still need to find, paint, and upholster!)  And I really like the long blue curtains.

I am definitely getting the itch to start the decorating!  Next up is deciding what to do in a kitchen with dark green countertops!

Wednesday, wonderful Wednesday!

Wednesdays have become better than a Saturday in my world!  Lou's mom comes and picks Julia up after she gets out of work and spends time with her.  That means quality Busia time for Julia and time for me to do the things that don't get done with a 14 month old under foot.

On today's agenda...

• laundry
• dishes
• clean the bathroom
• figure out our new family BUDGET!

Now that we are buying a house we have to rearrange things in the budget.  I have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC and one way I am committed to saving money is by using coupons.  I know that I will not ever be an "Extreme Couponer" or have a garage filled with my "stockpile," but I have seriously started looking at some of the ways that those women do their couponing and saving money for my family.  One difference is that the grocery stores in our area do no double coupons.  They do allow store coupons and manufacturer coupons though, so I am able to take advantage of that.  Another thing I learned about today is iPhone apps for coupons!  I have found several free couponing apps, so today, in between toilet scrubbing and loads of laundry, I will be going through the apps.  (I know I live a glamorous life!)  Check back in for the ones I find useful for my area.

Right Now - July 2011

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW … I hear the the little pops of fireworks.
I AM THINKING … about what I want to do with the house when it is ours.
I AM LEARNING … how to redo furniture. (Reading lots of tutorials online and itching to go garage saling to find some good furniture waiting for a new life in our house.)
I AM THANKFUL FOR … my family.  I was blessed with the best family!
FROM THE KITCHEN … tonight was brats, baked beans (with sausage), salad, and chips.
I AM WEARING … denim capris and a Brandon Inge Tigers shirt.
I AM GOING … to enjoy a holiday weekend with the family.
I AM READING ...  nothing at the moment.
I AM CREATING … ideas!  I hope to be able to scrap this week.
I AM HOPING ... that everything goes smoothly with my parents move and our transition into home owners.
I AM HEARING … My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. (Hilarious train wreck!)
AROUND THE HOUSE ... things are going to change!
ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS …watching my baby girl sleep so peacefully!

A FEW PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK … visiting Casey at Clifford Lake, fireworks at Lou's dad's in Stanwood, and Lyon family fireworks at the lake.
A PICTURE TO SHARE… Julia in her red polka dot bikini on our trip to Grand Haven. (6.28.11)

Scavenger Hunt at Clickin' Moms

I have always enjoyed taking pictures.  I am much more comfortable BEHIND the camera rather than in front of the camera.  I remember my first camera ever.  It was a Fisher Price film camera that I got when I was like 8, maybe.  I would spend my allowance on film and developing. 

The summer of 2009 I purchased a used Canon Rebel DSLR off eBay for $250.  I purposly bought a used camera so that I didn't have the huge investement in a camera that I didn't know how to use.  My goal was to learn to use the camera, then upgrade.

Well, two years later, I have taken two photograohy courses at GRCC, and purchsed my new DSLR.  I sold my camera to Casey so that she could learn how to use a DSLR without a huge investment like I did.  I went from the 300D (one of the first Rebels) to the Ti1.  Shortly after purchasing my new camera (in April) school got a little crazy and I haven't been able to use it as much as I would like.  I am finally done with my summer classes and am taking a summer break until September.  While I am on break I want to take some time to get out and take pictures again.

Clickinmoms.com is an online forum for mom photographers, whether hobbyists or professional.  I just joined the site, but so far I can see that there are a lot of tips and women to help me learn more about photography.  This month they are running a scavenger hunt.  I have a list of over 300 pictures to take and the prizes are FABULOUS!!!

If you are interested in checking out the site, or joining in on the scavenger hunt go HERE!

I took 6 of the pictures today, so be on the lookout.  I will post at least once a week with all the pictures I will be taking!

Why Am I Blogging?!?

Well, here I go.  One more thing I am committing myself to.  But, this one has a purpose for me.  I am 14 months into my venture into motherhood, 9 months as Mrs. Poplaski, and almost done with school.  At 29 1/2 I feel that I am finally realizing what my goals are and working toward them.  For the first time in my life, I think I know who I am and who I want to be.

So, here we go...

I am on my way to ME!