A Grown Up Kind Of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

I am in a book club and for the month of November we chose to read A Grown Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson. This book is about a young girl named Mosey who is raised by her mother and her grandmother. We find out right away that Mosey's mother has recently had a stroke and she cannot communicate well at all. At the beginning of the book, Mosey's grandmother decides she wants to build a pool in the backyard to help with Mosey's mother with therapy. When they dig up a tree in the backyard, bones are unearthed. It is soon after that that Mosey must go on a search to find out if her mother is really her mother, and if not, who is?

I really enjoyed A Grown Up Kind of Pretty. I love books that have some mystery in them and this one sure did! I also liked the way Joshilyn Jackson wrote her book - each chapter is from the viewpoint of a different character. I think a lot of authors are doing this lately, but Joshilyn Jackson does it quite well. She also jumps back and forth between past and present while the reader is trying to piece together the mystery. An excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone!

Airplane Magnet

Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged. Sheesh! It's been a busy year. I got engaged :) and I got a new job. :) So needless to say, blogging hasn't been the first thing on my to-do list. But now that the holidays are over and I THINK I have some free time - ha! I am going to post some things I have been meaning to post!

So first off: A cute little airplane magnet for you to make with your kiddos. Or if you're like me, you make multiples because you have to make examples for your job. (Yes, I have an awesome part time job - crafting!)

I first saw this craft at this website. There weren't directions that I could find right away, so I will make some for you. :D

You need for this craft:
-2 regular sized popsicle sticks
-1 mini popsicle stick
-1 clothespin
-A small piece of craft foam
-Magnet strip
-Acrylic paint in colors of your choice
-Tacky craft glue or a hot glue gun
-Scissors
-Paintbrush

First, paint your pieces - 2 sticks, 1 mini stick, and 1 clothespin. If you are using acrylic paint, remember that this does not easily come out of clothes. I think acrylic paint works the best though. Let the pieces dry for a few minutes. As you can tell, I was making 5 airplanes.

Once your pieces are dry, take the 2 longer sticks and glue one of the top of the clothespin and one of the bottom. Like so:

Take the smaller stick and glue it on the top toward the back. Like this:

Take the foam and cut a small piece for the tail of your plane. I cut a piece that looks like a quarter of a pie, but you could be creative and cut whatever you like! Glue it in the middle of the little stick on the back of the plane.

Once your glue has dried, stick a strip of magnet on the bottom, below the popsicle stick. I used a strip that was about an inch to an inch and a half long. Then stick it on your fridge! Or wherever you want! Remember, it opens and closes so you can easily stick papers or pictures in it! Have fun!

Happy New Year!
Tracy

Alligator Puppet

I got this craft idea from FamilyFun.com but it was originally a pencil holder. I made some changes to the craft to make it into a puppet. Here's how it's done:

Supplies:
-1 piece of green felt 5 in. x 12 in.
-1 piece of red felt 4 in. x 11 in.
-1 piece of white felt - enough for some teeth
-2 medium lime green pom poms
-2 small black pom poms
-2 medium googly eyes
-green rick rack
-Tacky glue or hot glue
-Scissors

Directions:

Take the green felt, fold it in half and cut on the fold. Then round one short side so you have a U shape for the mouth.

Take the red felt, fold it in half. Do NOT cut on the fold (this is what holds your gator together). Round the short edges so you have a smaller U shape on both sides when unfolded.

Put glue just around the curved edges and sides of the red felt and glue the green pieces to the top and bottom. If you put glue by the fold or all over inside you won’t get your hand in for the puppet!

Here's how your puppet should look right now:

Cut small triangles out of the white felt for the teeth. I cut 10, 5 for top and 5 for bottom. You can do as many as you’d like! Then glue them on the inside of the mouth so they stand up.

If you have time, let the teeth dry for a little bit. After that, glue one googly eye on the two green pom poms. Glue onto the head near the back. Glue the two black pom poms near the edge of the snout for the nostrils. Last, glue one longer and two shorter pieces of rick rack between the eyes and the nostrils.

You're done! I suggest letting it dry completely before using it as a puppet. Remember - it can always be made bigger or smaller for whatever size hand for which you are making it.


Enjoy!
 

The Electric Michelangelo

The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall

I first heard about this book when my aunt suggested I read it. She just ranted and raved about how good it was. Being as I love reading and I like tattoos/tattooing, I decided to purchase the book and give it a shot.

The story is about the life of a boy named Cyril Parks. He grows up in northern England and begins an apprenticeship with a local tattoo artist. As he grows up he takes his tattooing business to Coney Island. Sarah Hall writes a great story, very vivid with many details. The characters are very well developed and the settings described wonderfully. The one problem I had with this book though were many of the details - often there was so much description I found myself thinking, 'OK, what was going on here?' This was one of those books where I had to be concentrating fairly hard to be reading it. Also, I will admit I am kind of a slow reader, but because there are only 6 or so chapters in the book, it took me quite a while to read it. It just felt as though the chapters never ended. After finally getting into it - about halfway through, I didn't feel like it was somewhat of a burden to read it.
Overall I would give this book 3 out of 5. I can see how many people would really enjoy this story. I enjoyed it myself but would like something with a little bit more excitement. 

Tator Tot Hotdish

Growing up I had never really been a fan of my dad's tator tot hotdish, but since I have put my own spin on it, it is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. Here's how I do it.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
3/4 bag of tator tots

First, brown the ground beef. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Then, drain the grease. Put the ground beef in a casserole. Mix in the cheddar cheese soup and drained corn. Spread evenly in casserole.

Cover with tator tots. They do not need to be thawed. If you like a lot of tator tots, you can stand them upright. :)

Bake in oven for 35 - 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove when the tator tots are golden brown. You should also be able to see and hear the soup bubbling around the edges.

Scoop onto your plate and enjoy!

Yummm!

Creamy Potato Soup

Time for my first real post! So I was looking for something warm to make on a cold day and what else could I try but soup! I found a recipe I wanted to try so here goes...Creamy Potato Soup in the Crock Pot.
The original recipe came from from here, but I made some changes.

-5 slices of bacon, cooked and cumbled
-5-6 red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
-1/4 cup butter
-1/2 onion, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
-1/2 cup milk
-1/4 cup flour
-3 cups milk
-1 cup sour cream
-1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
-1 tablespoon fresh parsley
-1/2 teaspoon celery salt
-1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
-chives for garnish


1) Preheat a large slow cooker (I used the medium one, not a super big one) by turning it to high. Put butter in slow cooker and cover with lid.


2) Cut up onion and garlic cloves.

3) Put onions and garlic in the slow cooker. Stir with melted butter. Let cook for about 5 minutes or until onions turn golden.


4) While onions are cooking peel and cut up potatoes. Put in microwavable dish with a lid (I used a casserole). I also put some water in the dish to keep potatoes moist. Set aside.

5) Make sure butter is melted and onions are golden. Slowly stir in 1/2 cup of milk. Whisk in the flour until smooth.


6) Gradually whisk in the remaining 3 cups for milk. Do this very slowly. Let the mixture come to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the soup begins to thicken. This is what the recipe says but I did not see the soup simmering. After letting it cook for 1/2 hour or so, stirring occasionally, I decided to move on.


7) While it is cooking, make the bacon. Also, cook the potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes on high - until they are steaming hot.

8) Stir in the sour cream. It appears to curdle but I used a whisk to smooth it out. Stir in the cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, hot potatoes, 3 strips of crumbled bacon, parsley, celery salt, and basil. Stirring is key to this soup! Make sure ingredients are mixed well.

9) Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 3 hours. Stir occasionally. I tried the soup after it was cooking for 2 hours and it was delicious!


10) When serving, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles, and chives.

Perfect dinner! With a perfect boyfriend for the 6 month anniversary. :D

A new adventure...

...blogging. I have had the urge lately to blog, not sure why, so here goes.

I am not entirely sure what all this blog will be about but some things I would like to include are:
-Crafts/art projects
-Favorite books
-Living in the the good old SD
-Favorite recipes
-And any other things I might get myself into

Happy reading  :)