Ribbon Upcycle Tree

"Look what I can do!"
Basically, I do not like Styrofoam & did not want to buy it. So I figured out a way to
create a tree form & use some trash recycle.

Yea- that was a Starbucks cup. I had a Pumpkin Latte & it was good.
And thanks, Kohl's for the paper ad, as if the emailed ones were enough
of a reminder of the 15% off sale, that you run all the time.

So I basically just wrapped the ad in a cone(head) shape & taped it to the
upside down cup. Add ribbon I got from Joann's & Alene's Tacky Glue.

Cat reminding me why we do not have an actualy Christmas tree up yet.
(they cannot resist fake plants)

See? What a mess!
It wasn't that bad, considering the ribbon I thought was made of tinsel was more like glitter.
Basically I start at the bottom & glued a strip of glitter ribbon around the bottom base of the cup. Then cut ~1.5" pieces of 2 other green ribbons. I used 2 diff designs, but they came on the same spool- so same width. Then I curled the bottom half of each ribbon & glued the still flat part just above the glittery ribbon. Repeat- another sideways glitter ribbon, then alternating shiny green ribbons. You do need to allow some time in between for the tacky glue to be tacky, then dry some. Otherwise the ribbon pieces will want to fall off.

I'd like to make more of these, but frankly, it took a while. Maybe if all the ribbon was
pre-cut & I used some messy, sticky, burny crap hot glue, it'd be easier.
Course, you can find ribbon fringe trees so cheap, makes you wonder why I went thru all the trouble to make one myself..... I wonder why, too.

Today is Beef Stew, & Garbage Day

Felt I needed a common in there.....

So bcz I am working the evening shift, and hubby is in class at night, it works out to prepare at noon, eat at 8. Plus it's just that kind of weather here, 20 degrees out, snow on the ground, garbage day. Basically I had a chance to go thru the fridge & pantry, lol.


McCormick Beef Stew Slow Cooker mix, beef, a can of beef broth,
some carrots, some potatoes, some garlic bits, and some large onion chunks.
Why does it look like a flower arrangement in there?
2 reasons, unless you count artistic factors.
DH does not like/eat onions.
My crockpot likes to burn things that touch the edge.
I probably won't eat them bcz they will be charred, but it's for the flavor anyways, right?


Oh yea, forgot to mention, I had some green bell pepper from fajitas the other night, so why not? I may add some bacon bits before we eat it, cuz it's the sprinkles of meat.


So here's my new little project, a 8x8 shadow box frame from Joann's on black Friday.
I thought it'd be cute to put 3D displays in there for diff holidays or seasons.
I used stuff i already had on hand.


cute, right?

And this is atop the fridge, one place the cats will leave alone, unless they see my put something up there they can't resist- then they wait til they think we're asleep & go crazy. I hope that doesn't happen, I love that snowman cookie jar from Hobby Lobby, and at 50% off- even the sweeter! Oh- the santa/hat beard combo is for Callaway to wear.
I made the ribbon tree on the left; tute here.

K- I should prolly go wash my hair, or something.
I need a haircut, like, bad.

Thanksgiving Day, 2011

Question:
www.nataliedee.com

.....mine is the head ^_^

I told my husband, earlier today- Thanksgiving is like a sporting event for women.

We prepare & look forward to this whole day cooking event each year, well some dread it I'm sure too. The first year married (2008) & living on our own up here in ND- I made anything & everything, for just us 2 -both of our families' traditions, the best I could. The year after, 2009, we were in a huge fight & therefor I did not buy anything to prepare. We ate at Perkins & watched football, lol (I can lol now that it's passed). Last year, we had another couple over for Thanksgiving Day, plus their dog.... which was nice bcz it kept our dog entertained, too. This year, Nick didn't find out his work schedule until, um last night. We decided bcz of the unknown, we'd celebrate Friday after his Best Buy trip. So not knowing what time it was "going down" he said make it whenever I wanted, he'd be off work at 1pm Thursday. One of his friends was going to join us, but then that plan changed, too.
So we are going to eat about 6 tonight, LOL.

Obligatory cute kitteh foto.

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Anyways, I wanted to document what I'm making, so if it turns out well I can do it again!

So far I put the turkey in the crock-pot- Butterball boneless white breast meat recipe followed here. My crockpot will usually burn whatever is touching the sides or bottom, (I don't know if this is normal or what) so I layed some celery stalks down on the bottom to keep the meat from laying directly: a) on the pot & b) in the chicken-stock (which is homemade, btw!)

I used 5oz of the stock, then seasoned the meat & plopped it in there, set to low for 7 hours.

I also threw a lil shallot in there for flavor.

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I also found a great recipe for homemade from scratch Green Bean Casserole-
from Martha Stewart - with a video too!
Seemed easy enough, & since it's my fav part of the meal-
I decided it was time to get serious. First up, chopping the shallots, I cried, of course.
I wasn't prepared with my candle- but after the 1st one, I lit that bad boy!

Photo-Op, Ula from Momma C. & Bob!

Then I coated in flour, shook off & dropped into hot oil, stirred a bit & waited
for them to look a lil' brown & crispy.

Be careful, hot oil hurts!

Yay!


Next was making the cream of mushroom soup- I used heavy cream bcz- the milk went bad a week ago & I didn't notice, luckily I had cream open from my creamy tomato basil soup, & also I wanted to make if nice & thick.

The sauce thickenin' up, we're ok with thickenin' up, it's winter for goodness sake!

Mixed in with the green beans & I threw some of the onions in there too, just cuz.

I think it's so pretty, all the colors melding together. Then i 8 it. You can't have any.
Fin.

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Next up was some pie. I found a recipe online thru Libby's for a Pumpkin Pecan Pie.
Normally I would just heat up a frozen pumpkin pie, but since I'm trying to eat smarter-
& I have the time-
& I'm the only one going to be eating it anyways,
I decided I'd give this a go.

(ok Callaway would totally have some too, if I let him)

I did use a ready-made graham crust, bcz I've yet to make a pie crust...
maybe at Christmas I'll try that.... with a Kitchen Aid mixer's help (hint, hint).

Mix crap together.

Layer pie & bake.

Cool & admire your work.


4 Hours remaining on the turkey- checked the temp per Butterball's suggestion- I had to reach 140 within 4 hours, it was well over 180- I guess it'll be done early, lol.

But I'm not ready yet- still enjoying some Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee.

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This is how the pie turned out:
It is very good! Looks a bit burnt, but I am going to assume that's because it's not fresh crust. But it's a really nice mix of pumpkin & pecan pies, duh. lol

Here is our table spread, I know, I know- nothing fancy, but wanted to document this date as we ate AT the dinning table, not even using that computer sitting over there, or the 3DS....

I plant garlic from the grocery store

.....which would normally not be advised. However, this is organic garlic- so it's super special & untreated, which I am hoping will mean in another 9 months means I have 5 bulbs to pull & let dry! I found many sources with info how to plant it, so I just kinda mashed all the advice into what I could remember to do while I was outside, with our corgi hassling me, in North Dakota, in November, when it was about 40 degrees out.

So what I did was.... rug into my raised bed & pulled any weeds/grass shoots out. I've read that garlic does not compete very well with weeds. I sprinkled in some Bison manure fertilizer mix I bought a while ago then cut a ~12"x12" piece of yard fabric & cut 5 wholes out. Laid this down & put my 5 cloves of garlic in the ground, keeping their papery-skins on. Then I put about 2" more of "dirt" (really my Mel's Mix) over top & THEN covered that with about 4" of mulched grass/leaves I'd been saving in a big yard debris bag (for good reason).

So here's hoping that in the spring I will see some green sprouts pop up & that I'll actually remembered what I plant there, probably need to put a plant-marker in that square. ^_^

Here's a great write-up I used: How To Plant Garlic.

***** Nov 24 update *****

Here is a picture of me "harvesting" the parsnip. Ok- well I think there would be one. Here's a before picture of the growth in the summer:
Now here is what I pulled today:

What the crap?!

*April 14 Garlic update*

All 5 popped up yay!

Next on my list: The Pumpkin Project. Growing pumpkins inside a pumpkin- just add soil & water!

Pay for organic, & bacon!

I am surprised every-time I go grocery shopping now. I have been specifically reading labels & looking for organic foods. I've bought organic fed & cage free eggs, Muir Glen's organic diced tomatoes, Rubi's organic bread, & salad dressing. This feels like a great start, plus I saw organic milk, too. I know many folks would like to buy organically, but are concerned of the cost. Yes- It going to cost you a bit more (some things more than others), but I think the monetary cost is worth more than the cost of unforeseen unhealthy aftermath of foods loaded with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and GMOs. Also, I am going to try & do better to not waste food- We are guilty here of buying more than we can use before it goes bad :-( Shameful, I know.

One place I've been discouraged is with bacon- we really enjoy our bacon. For breakfast or atop chicken for dinner! I did not find organic bacon at the commissary. I land up buying Farmland because I remembered seeing really poor videos of animal treatment, processing, & employee handling of Smithfield products. Now that I am home to research more, I find that Smithfield owns over 50 brands of pork products! And I found this company news to be pure BS: Murphy-Brown's Don Butler appointed to USDA's Ag. Technical Advisory Committee. The reason I call BS is because it is stated right there, Don is an employee of Smithfield's. Now he is also an adviser to the USDA. Here is another classic example of large corporations in bed with government regulators. Essentially- one of the largest hog producing companies is happy with one of their own being right next to those that are in office to protect the health of our nation, among other things. But is that what we the people want? Should we be happy that advising the USDA is an enormous pork-processing company? How will things like this effect small farms? Or those who believe in organic farming, not pumping, plumping, and dumping animals for meat?

My recommendations to watch

These are some excellent documentaries I have personally watched & want to share with you!

• Vanishing Bees
  
• Food Matters
• Food, Inc
• The Business of Being Born
  
• Pregnant in America
  
• The Future of Food thru Hulu
  
• My Potato Project; The Importance of Organic" youtube video- child's experiment turns into a lesson on the toxins in our food supply.
• The Disappearing Male -doc about mainly BPA's hormonal effect on males
• Plastic Ocean - "Just this one chemical used to make hard, clear plastic, BPA, is produced at over 7 billion pounds a year, and it's a non-recyclable plastic." It's thrown into the environment, many already know the dangers associated by this particular chemical. This video documents a apparent floating garbage island the size of Texas off the coasts of California & Japan. Entertaining, but educational- mainly just the beginning segment. It does reveal, however that there is not one "island" per-say of garbage- but rather pieces are scattered throughout, and the more broken down it becomes, the smaller & easier for small food-chain members to eat, fish, birds, ect. These plastics will only break down to a certain degree, not like natural things for sustaining life.
• Know Your Plastic Food Containers -very good video, sums up by avoiding codes 3, 6, & 7
• Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution (can be found on Netflix)- french documentary following a school in a town who's mayor decided their cafeteria would only serve organic food. They teach the children about foods, and they grow a garden & save seeds in the school yard. Talk with many farmers who use chemical pesticides and also about health issues and how these are related. Cancer is a big after-effect. It'd be nice to see the US try this.
• 
  

An introdution to why I started this blog

Our world is scary. Forget war, unemployment, the housing market bust. Let's talk about one of man's most simple requirements: food. Produce shopping is like a chemical battlefield- buyer beware! This also stems my desire to prepare for safe, natural pregnancy.

Evolution in many ways has benefit us, in other ways it has hurt us. If it wasn't for technology, I wouldn't know what I know today. It all started when I was curious about child-birth. I watched Pregnant In America thru Netflix. Netflix, being the wonderful tool it is, suggested numerous other documentary titles I might like to see. I did, and since then have taken to investigating how un-natural American's are today. Now I am gardening & reading labels not for the calories or serving sizes, but for the ingredients. I've also ventured into natural/organic beauty products.

Any, in general, I think folks thru FaceBook are tired of seeing my rants, so this is a different outlef. ^_^