ABC's of My Life

Anyone Else??

2011-11-13T22:45:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd start posting more (ha! Cause seldom isn't here or anything?!)

Wanna hear what's gone on in my life lately?!

Well, I got divorced. Married almost 2 years. I think people look at that "word" as failure rather than, I gave it all I had but all I had didn't give me. That make sense? In other words, somethings just aren't meant to be. There for a while days were tough but I think I've became a stronger and better person because of it all.

My beautiful Grandma also passed away. Watching her slowly fade away was/still is the worst thing to go through. She passed away on a Wednesday night. Earlier that week, Monday, I had found out I just got a new home for my daughter and I -- No more sharing a room with my child in my parents home! (Don't get me wrong -- I do love my parents and forever owe them!) That Wednesday I had also bought my very own brand new furniture set .. Ah .. Love. I felt like I was on cloud 9. Things were going so well for me. I also had bought a new car that month too! Yahoo! Then my Grandma passed away. I moved the next day. I'm not sure I ever got to fully grieve her loss. She taught me the many beautiful things about life.

My cupcake business really took off right after she passed away. At first it was one or two orders here and there.. Then it became three to four dozen .. to five and six dozen. Now it seems nothing to have five orders in one week of a few dozen a piece. I actually had a weekend off this past weekend -- that never happens! Ha! However, I could not be prouder of myself!

Speaking of proud -- I made a goal to lose 10 pounds. Not because I consider myself overweight but because my "fat" jeans were becoming my "skinny" jeans and at $100 a pop -- I'm not buying me new "fat" jeans. Because my shirts, don't need to look like they have built in tires around the waist. And because my daughter deserves to have a mommy proud of how she looks. Somedays I would walk by a mirror and not look at myself. That's an awful feeling to have. Onto the wonderful part, I'm down 6 pounds :o) Only 4 more to go!

So -- anything new with you?

White Chocolate Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

2011-06-15T22:24:00.001-05:00

Whooo! That's a mouthful!

Raise your hand if you've ate a slice of heaven aka Red Velvet cake?!

Not I.

Raise your hand if you've had the new ice cream by Ace of Cakes star Duff?!

Ok maybe not Duff himself but Blue Bunny sells it and I'm eating a bowl now.

Me!

Raise your hand if you love brownies?!

Me!

And last but not least, if you really raised your hand -- you rock!

I bake. A lot. Too much. Just kidding.

My latest thing .. These brownies.

Fair warning:

The pan will be gone in one day. Maybe one hour.

Don't share.

First, go here..

Read her post.

Make those brownies.

Omit dark chocolate.

Add about 3 Tablespoons of White Chocolate pudding mix to the egg mixture.

After you swirl in the cream cheese I poured white chocolate chips on it and baked accordingly.

Here's the recipe so you won't have to browse other sites.

Yes. I'm that nice in real life too :o)

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

1/2 cup butter

2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp red food coloring

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir with a fork until very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add in the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Batter should be red. If a brighter red is desired, add an additional 1/2 tsp food coloring. Add flour and salt into the bowl and stir until everything is just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

Prepare cheesecake mixture. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Drop in dollops onto prepared brownie batter. Gently swirl two batters with a butter knife.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

Cool in the pan completely before slicing and serving, either at room temperature or chilled.

Brownies can be refrigerated, covered, for several days.

Makes 16 large brownies or 24 smaller brownies

Ooops! Oh my!

2011-05-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

Hey!

So do you LOVE my new layout?!

I do!

I finally cracked down and had this super sweet gal make me a custom blog layout and I love love love it!

It seems the boring bug is going around a lot lately.

This t-shirt. Boring. So boring so, I paid $6.99 for it at TJMAXX.

That store and I have a love/hate relationship.

I love finding fun things to tear apart and make new.

But I hate digging. Hate it. Well, sometimes, when I'm kid free, not working, not sleeping, not eating/driving, or anything of the above.. I'll make a slight appearance and see what I can destroy.

By destroy, I mean, tear apart.

And yes, I am sucking it in. I only wished I looked that way on a regular basis!

The after

I cut about 3 inches off the bottom. In the top picture you can see it's long.

I cut that section into 1 inch strips and braided. And braided. And braided. I don't braid. My baby girl is bald. This was a challenge.

I used liquid stitch around the collar and called it a job well done.

All the credits go to this gal who says it was an "oops" but I say it's an "ooh-la-la"

New Design Layout

2011-05-22T14:16:00.000-05:00

This sweet lady I came across online is designing a new blog layout for me and I could not be more excited to show it off!

Please be patient with me! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Xoxo,

Abby

From Frumpy to Fantastic!

2011-05-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

When I moved back in with my parents I became rather bored. I no longer had a space of my own or crafts to do .. I wanted to do something that would make a statement.

Something bold.

Something daring.

Something not me.

I asked on a Facebook post if anyone had stools or ottomans to let me have .. When my mom told me she had one in storage. She promptly went out that day and found it.

It sat there ever since.

Until today.

I took the ragged, paint dripping, sittin' in a corner, wooden stool to a whole new level!

Hope you enjoy!

A hammer and muscles can do a little damage ..

Spray paint the legs "Lagoon" blue and let dry. Paint. Let dry.

Repeat until the can is empty or finger is cramping.

Cover seat in fabric of choice ..

Go bold.

Go daring.

Go for the gold.

Reassemble stool/new-improved-never-gonna-look-the-same ottoman and enjoy!

This project took me roughly 3 hours to do with drying time and a bowl of chocolate ice cream in between!

-Abby

Headband Tutorial!

2011-05-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful Mothers out there! I hope everyone's was filled with love and lots of relaxation!

I recently went thru my camera and found a tutorial I made and completely forgot to post!

Don't tell anyone :)

************

Start by raiding someone's hair accessory drawers.. My drawer was my Mom's.

(HI MOM!)

Next grab a fun fabric .. This happened to be one that I made a dress refashion for Charlotte when she was smaller.

I next cut it into 3 strips and made into rosettes

Next step is to wrap it in a fun ribbon ... making sure to glue it every so often. This is where you can hide blemishes and it helps hold it together.

I then cut 3 circles of fabric and laid on top of one another and glued to each other.

I put a glob of glue and sprinkled a few silver beads on top. I glued the rosettes on..burnt the edges to the flower .. and wa-la!

The end result is a super cute headband!!

Place it on your model and bribe her with brushing her teeth :)

Personalized Stool

2011-05-07T16:20:00.004-05:00

My daughter just turned two a few weeks ago. With that said, she is obviously not of my height so getting up and down off of my bed is a challenge for her. I took a trip to Hobby Lobby and stumbled upon mini stools. They're plain jane, nothing fancy to them but it is the perfect height for her to climb up.. or get into things she doesn't need to be in. I should have thought that one thru a little more ;)

Long story short .. this is what I came up with!

******************

I spray painted the stool hot pink and let it dry for at least 24 hours.

I then put a heavy dose of Modge Podge onto the top..

Next I laid down scrapbook paper .. zebra print :) and did another doseage of Modge Podge to let it seal.

(I also cut the paper down to size)

While it was drying I cut my daughters name out using my Cricut.. I placed her name on there.

It's a lighter shade of the pink .. more Modge Podge ..

The grande finale! Her brand new stool made all while she was asleep! :)

I also added little pads to the bottom of it so it wouldn't scratch the wood floors :)

This child was like a kid in a candy store with her new toy!

I've linked to these parties:

It's A Birthday!

2011-02-06T16:09:00.000-06:00

Cake that is :)

I recently baked and decorated this for a friend of mine's mother ..

The bottom layer is red velvet and the top is chocolate .. Mmmm!!

I decorated it with homemade fondant and a snow white icing .. Mmmm!

Baby Shower Cake

2011-01-23T17:31:00.000-06:00

I recently, as in today, did a baby shower cake.

I was told the little one is a girl and will be named Emma. (How sweet?!)

The mother to be's favorite color is yellow.

We had a picture to sort of go off of but this is what I came up with:

There were also some extra cookies which sadly were too large to fit on the cake.

How is that crown held up you ask?

I cut two straws (about the depth of the cake) with the bendy parts attached.

I placed them behind where the crown would sit and bent the straw over to help hold it.

Does that make sense? Haha! Regardless, I then covered that up with icing.

The same client who ordered the above cake -- ordered the below cake in November.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Stay warm!

Runner's Block? I Think Not!

2011-01-04T14:08:00.000-06:00

I believe I may have just decided to do the dumbest thing I've done in a while.

However, its a new year, so why not start it off with a bang?!

I just signed up to do a challege of running 100 miles in the month of January.

And in case you weren't aware, it's cold outside.

And I hate the cold.

This should be fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:53:00.000-06:00

Didya miss me?!

The last time I updated my blog was for my birthday and so much has happened since then. My daughter and I have moved to my parents where we now will be living until we get settled on our feet again

My daughter is my love and my one joy in this world. She is the highlight of my day. My parents really enjoy having her around, even when she is being a cranky pants little girl. :)

On a happier note, my cake business is doing really well. Here, I'll show you how well!

The cake was for a 50th birthday party. I basically had the choice to do whatever I wanted with it.

It was made in early November so I thought fall colors were very fitting and classy.

All together, I love this cake!

This cake was made for my best friends wedding shower .. Simply stunning ..

Just a few of the cupcakes I made for a baby shower ..

They were a lot of work but turned out adorable.

I also made a cake that had blue fondant with brown and white circles and dots.

I did this cake for a 2 year old. Seriously, what 2 year old doesn't love Dora?!

On a side note, my daughter who is a year and a half woke up the next morning and said, "DORA!"

That makes a Mama proud! :)

This is the most recent picture of my daughter.

I chopped all my hair off as well.

Everyone needs a change.

My daughter and I finished moving on Halloween so I made her costume to be Pebbles out of a t-shirt and a pair of blue sweats. It was a little crazy but that's how life is suppose to be.

I want to wish all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Spend it with the ones you love :-)

-Abby

Happy Birthday To Me!

2010-09-09T23:04:00.000-05:00

In honor of MY birthday -- I thought I would show you what I did for a few people I sorta kinda know really well.

My sister in law turned 10 .. Her mom asked me to make a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and slight blue details. I think I covered all the bases and added a twist or two :)

My Grandma turned 86 .. and in honor of her birthday I make cupcakes and a cake.

Today I'm only showing the cupcakes side .. I didn't count them but 2 batches of chocolate and 2 batches of vanilla!

And last but not least - my best friend turned 21!

I apologize for the horrible picture - I thought it was better on my camera. And well, it lied.

It is a swirled pink and vanilla cake with marshmallow fondant made to look like a Cosmo Martini .. ya know what I'm talkin about .. I know you do!

And the orange peel - has all the details of a normal orange peel.

And in case you wondered, I have a tutorial just for your viewing pleasure!

Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me!

xoxo,

Abby

Orange Vanilla Frozen Pops

2010-08-30T22:07:00.000-05:00

My little one has been teething. And to say in an oh so nice way, it's been a ~~nightmare~~ adventure.

In order to be the new and improved Supermom -- I made these.

Orange Vanilla Frozen Pops

from the All You magazine.

I'm sure you've heard of it .. It has loads of coupons, quick recipes, fashion advice, family advice, and just about everything you need in just a little over 100 pages. And it comes right to my door every month. Right on time.

Here, I'll show you how to make them too

First take some of these

12 oz frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. vanilla [mine is from Ecuador, it has a more cinnamon-y flava]

Dash of salt

1 1/4 c Greek yogurt [it calls for plain, I used vanilla. I break the rules]

You also will need

A bowl, a wisk, and paper cups with spoons of sticks of course

Start off with the thawed concentrate in a bowl ..

Add in:

Water [1 1/2 cups actually] and wisk!

Add in the vanilla and sugar and stir! Stir! Stir!

Next -- the yogurt! Stir! Stir!!

Pour into cups -- freeze overnight or at least 6 hours and firm. Enjoy and come back to tell me ya love me!

XoXoX

Applique Tutorial

2010-08-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

My best friends little girl was turning 4 .. And I would much rather make her something, than buy her something. That way I know A LOT of love went into it.

I started off with size 500 [!!!!] font of the number 4

Simply printed off the computer in a fun bubbly font.

I cut it out and layed it on top of double stick fusible webbing.

I buy the blue package at Joanns.

A helpful hint I read was to cut the webbing smaller than the actual item you will be sewing on.

That will allow nothing to get on your iron as long as it is placed correctly :)

It doesn't have to be that much smaller, just cut "inside your lines"

I laid the 4 down backwards on the back of the printed fabric.

I could have just laid it correctly on the top of the fabric but I didn't want to jynx getting a line on the finished product.

Numero 4!

Lay it on the tank top and iron away

Sew it in place and look what you just did!

Here is a look at the whole outfit --

Hope you enjoy seeing something I've been up to!

There is plenty more to come! :)

MIA Much?

2010-08-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

Hey!

So I have been mia because a wonderful couple of women in my life had birthdays.

Three to be exact, close to four this coming week. And mine is the week after. No hints or anything! ;)

Anyways - my camera has kind of kicked the bucket when syncing with my computer, so I'm going to try this one last time and if not I'm off to buy a new one and hopefully will be having some much better luck with posting so often! :) Eeek!! I'm excited!!

By the way -- did you see I have 43 followers?!!?! Seriously - That is amazing!

Love every 43 of you! Go tell your friends and the sooner the better we get this show on the road! Whoa!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Sun [Oven] Dried Tomatoes

2010-08-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

I have a quick & easy recipe to try out. I've done this for a few years now and every time it turns out wonderful! It is also an easy way to use up all the tomatoes that are beginning to produce this time of year. My mom sent me home with a bag full as well as my in-laws sent us home with a few.

Sun [Oven] Dried Tomatoes

Slice up the tomatoes into quarters in a bowl

Pick out your seasonings, I used [as pictured] oregano, italian seasoning, sea salt, and basil. I also put some oil on them to keep from sticking to my pan and rack.

That looks like quite a lot, but it really wasn't.

There are a lot of tomatoes there!

Arrange them on your cleanest dirty stained pan you own with a wire rack on top, as pictured.

That pan was a gift and within a few weeks my roommate I had, baked something on it and never washed it. There went the shiny to my new pans. However, they still work and I use silicone to bake with most of the time :)

Put them in the oven on the lowest setting above warm, mine was 200 degrees as the lowest so I put mine between warm and 200.

I put them in the oven on a Saturday evening, set the timer for 10 hours! When we woke up for church they weren't to the doneness I wanted. So I let them "dry" more. When we got home 2 hours later they were to perfection.

I put mine into a bowl with oil and tightly covered in the fridge. I'll be making a crock pot Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce so stay tuned for it!

Didya See It?!

2010-08-07T00:24:00.000-05:00

Lookee there! I have received my FIRST blog award! From this awesome lady!! Seriously -- check her out!

And I had no idea how to respond since I was in shock that people read what I write.

Wow. I love you people! You are absolutely 110% stunning!

I have really awesome news to share - but bear with me. I have a busy day tomorrow lined up, so I will be posting when I get a spare 5 minutes!

Much love!

Motivation .. ?!

2010-08-03T22:47:00.000-05:00

Okay let's be honest -- way back when I first started this blog I made goals. And here I am not doing a single one of them!

Well I take that back, the weight part, I've been losing. Wanna know how?

I know you do.

Water. Is. My. Friend.

I have coffee in the morning - I'm a mom. I need it. Can't give it up. Ever. I tried this people. I was cranky. Talk to my husband if you do not believe me. And I try really hard not to drink pop.

And I have -stopped- eating out that much. My husband seems to believe, if it ain't fast - it ain't food motto. I believe, if its not home made, its not that healthy all the time. So now, I have begun to write a menu up in the beginning of the week for what's for dinner. And I'm a huge fan of freezer meals! I bake on weekends too so we normally have a fresh loaf of bread on Monday mornings. [yesterday was Lemon Bread .. mmmm! I'll post that recipe sometime!]

At my full time job, we have a walking room so on my breaks I get up from the computer and walk and it feels great. I did a class of kickboxing and went running/walking with my MIL. However, this past week the motivation went downhill quickly and I'm sipping on an Orange Fanta and I made brownies yesterday. Yes, I too have days like that. However, I am posting this today - that I am making a schedule to begin running. I really would like to wake at 5 am [!! what am I thinking !!] but to go running/walking in the morning for an hour then come home and shower and all that jazz. I would love to work up to that routine. And I said it here so that means I have to do it .... Eeek!

Pump me up and motivate me? :0) If you too have trouble keeping motivated, I'd love to help you out. Keep you pumped - you keep me pumped. New blog buddy? Anyone looking? :0)

On other news, my husband got a full time position at a local Armory in town which is the best news I've heard lately. It was fantastic to be told that today. Yahoo! Go Mr B! :o)

And my followers keep going up and up and up!

You rock!

Much love,

Miss A

Flower Petal Cupcakes -- Tutorial!

2010-07-28T23:00:00.001-05:00

I have a new project for you all!

As you may know, I have a little girl.

Therefore I'm obsessed with all things girlie and cute.

It comes with the territory ..

First let's start with what you need:

Cupcakes!

Cooled of course

Mini marshmallows, scissors, colored sugar, frosting, cupcake, and a spoon

Frost the cupcake with a thin amount of frosting

Cut the mini marshmallow on the diagonal...

and no my skin isn't that colored :o)

I edited the picture to show you how to do it exactly ...

Dip the marshmallow half in the colored sugar and lay the end of the marshmallow onto the edge of the cupcake, starting from the edge to the inside ..

Work your way around the cupcake until that ring is full and start on the second row until you get to the center which you will add a few more and look at what you just made for the little girl inside of you just waiting to say Hiiiiiiii :o)

Enjoy!!

Leave me a comment and let me know you were here! :o)

Don't forget to be a follower -- in 70 more I am having a GREAT giveaway! :o)

Much love,

Abby

Party Party Partyyyy!

2010-07-24T08:47:00.002-05:00

You're invited to one very special little girl's first birthday party.

When: Now

[It was April 10th....]

Where: Here

[It was at my parents house]

RSVP: Or just leave a comment. I love comments.

[We had family and friends]

The birthday girl herself

[We had her pictures taken for her first birthday destroying a cake. It was so fun! Even if she hated it ... :0)]

Her invite

[I took this picture from 1st Wishes but actually bought them somewhere else. I cropped the picture and put some of her info on there as well :)]

Her tutu that I made for her -- On the front I ironed on a cupcake and on the back I ironed on a "1"
[I may or may not have also placed a crown on her head ..]

A few more pictures of her with it on .. I just can't get enough of her!

Her cake, made to look like her invite.

Stunning isn't it?!

My supervisor at my day job made it .. She is fantastic at cakes!

The only picture I have of her semi digging in.

She is such a girl some days :0) Not that I would change that ..

This is the only picture I have of her table, after the party. In the corner is a stand with pictures of her from birth to a year.

And those balloons were the biggest pain I've ever had to deal with!

We ordered some from a local grocery floral shop the night before, when we got them home, within a few hours they were dead..deflated like never before.

The next morning I called HyVee and ordered a ton of balloons and paid way to much for them.

But they look great and I'm not complaining .. Just my wallet was :0)

That cake that was in the bottom corner of the previous picture .. there it is :0)

My mom's birthday is 2 days after Miss C.

We surprised her with that cake. It was fantastic!

I didn't edit this photo since it slightly shows her cupcakes I made.

Chocolate cupcakes with Peanut Butter icing

[Purple] Vanilla cupcakes with Vanilla icing

The peanut butter ones were gone within minutes and may or may not have been a fight over them.

Also on the menu:

BBQ Meatballs

Taco Dip

Veggie Tray

Caramel Pecan Apple Dip

Raspberry Lemonade

Sweet Tea

and Kool-Aid for the little ones of course :0)

Her birthday went fantastic! She had a lot of fun and was of course a hit with her tutu!

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate our special day!

Linking to these amazing places:

Tutorial Tuesday!

2010-07-20T22:27:00.003-05:00

Here is my very first tutorial. So bear with me please.

Thanks :)

I got the boredom bug the other night and decided that silver bangle, needed to change a bit.

I did this all on a whim and now, I would change a few things.

But imperfections, make it perfect.

What you need:

A bangle, Mod Podge, Clothespin, Rotary Cutter [my favorite thing] and multiple kinds of fabric, and a hot glue gun. Possibly bad lighting for pictures as well ... but who is really counting :0)

Cut the base fabric into a strip..

Like so

Glue on one tip with the hot glue gun, hold in place with clothespin

and start wrapping

Then cut other colors of fabric and make roses

Such as those three

This is the step I would change.

I covered mine in mod podge. However, the next day it was hard as a rock and slightly hurt getting on.

I'd suggest just gluing and forgetting the sealant.

After making the roses, glue onto your bangle and consider yourself the new owner of one very custom, very good looking bracelet.

I'm linking here:

Decorate With Metal

2010-07-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hey guys!

Did you see the awesome awesome news?! I was featured!

My very first time and I am overjoyed with it! This week would be my grandpa's birthday, he would have been 91.

This is a picture of him obviously on his 88th birthday. I made that cake for him :o) He lived in Holland for his earlier years, married my grandma, had one daughter and came here to America on a boat and they together had 4 more children, 3 girls and 1 boy. He was very big into his church, therefore, the round cake closest to the bottom left has a windmill and cross on it. The one above has a tractor since he had a garden and loved it! Then next one had fish with a pond and a fishing pole, that man sure loved to fish!! And the one below that had a dairy cow since they had their own dairy farm for many many years. I just love that man!

Happy Birthday Grandpa! I know you are happy in your new home!

Now on to what I wanted to tell you about :o)

When I became pregnant and we found out we were having a little girl, immediately I looked for bedding.

Baby C's bedding is bright pink, light pink, and green with hints of a white cream in it.

I love to have family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation.

So we used my old dresser. I didn't take before pictures, but it was blue and purple? I don't know why.

Here it is now:

Light pink with green drawers and white knobs. But there was a gap in between the drawers and knobs.

My mom told me that she had found an idea to paint washers.

And lookee there -- it worked!

Have a great day everyone!

Earring Holder from the Dollar Tree

2010-07-11T00:16:00.004-05:00

Hey all! I hope you had a fantastic week and your weekend is going swell!

I have a sick little one to take care of, however, literally this is the first time she has ever been sick so I can't complain much.

Here she is at my parents with her "Really?!" face :0)

I just checked my blog dashboard and had some bum news.

One of my favorite blogs, Ruffles And Stuff has decided to end blogging. It's a sad day. I really enjoyed her posts. Plus I just made her bracelet and haven't been able to post about it.

In honor of Disney, here is her rose bracelet.

Here is her tutorial :0)

Back to business

I went to the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago. I was really bored. I never go there.

And I don't know why. Well, I know why. Not to sound rude, but some of the people that walk in there, look and act, um.. like they have never been in public before. There I said it. Sue me.

So as C and I were scooting along, we came across this beaut:

Ugly isn't it? But I see potential!

There she is!

The little beauty herself!

And it was super simple. Cause I'm all about simple. I have a child ya know :0)

Here is how I did it:

I spray painted it Heirloom White. Let it dry. Paint again. Then I took sandpaper to the "pot" of it and wiped it off clean. I then took an Antique Glaze to it and wiped it clean. I dressed it up with earrings and it now sits in my newly re-done bathroom.

Total money spent:

$1.00 on the "plant"

I had everything else at home :0)

Now that is what I call a bargain!

I am linking to these sites below.

Please leave a comment to let me know you came by!

--> Tatertots and Jello <--

Test

2010-07-09T22:41:00.000-05:00

I made a signature tonight! Whoa! Go me! :) So this is just a test to make sure it works! ;)

Problem Vs. Solution

2010-07-05T16:03:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time there was a beautiful little girl.

Meet Miss C. Or as her mother and father call her,

Punkin, Squirt, and Charly, sometimes even her legal name, Charlotte.

Her mommy put her to sleep one night while daddy was at work at a local restaurant.

Mommy did the dishes and finished some laundry while waiting on Daddy to come home. When he arrived she greeted him at the door for a quick smooch-a-roo. He promptly got into the shower.

At this time, Mommy checked on Miss C.

She opened the door and this awful smell greeted her immediately.

She checked on Miss C. All seemed well at first glance. Then she saw it.

Her dirty diaper was under her body. And not on her body.

Mommy walked out of the room and waited on Daddy to get done.

From there on out, no more sleeping in a t-shirt for Miss C.

Even if it is hot and Mommy and Daddy don't want the air on at night.

No more.

Meet The Problem:

Meet The Solution:

All that Mommy did was sew on velcro to the top and bottom of her jammies.

Now they are unable to be taken off and therefore the diaper taken off.

And no more presents for Mommy and Daddy to clean.

I should also say, that I went out and bought her two more set of jammies and my mom and I have attached snap buttons to them. Velcro just works for now until she's able to figure that out :-)

I'm linking:

http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

Happy Independence Day!!

2010-07-04T13:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day!

We will be spending the day with family since we were unable to last year as a whole family.

Last year my husband was in his training for the Army National Guard.

Before he left, we had a going away party in May, themed in Red, White and Blue.

I will leave you with a picture of my husband and 7 week baby girl.

Enjoy this day with your loved ones!

Toilet Paper + Art .. ?

2010-07-02T22:28:00.004-05:00

Hey all!

It's been a little while, thought I'd show you what has been going on lately.

As I mentioned earlier in a post, my husband would be leaving for two weeks. Well I wasn't going to just sit around and do nothing. Okay, I wanted to. But I didn't.

Instead, I created this:

Sorry for the lack of a better picture, we live in an apartment with VERY BAD lighting .. and no matter what I do, it will never be fixed. So I don't try.

Needless to say, that was made out of toilet paper rolls.

Yes. Toilet paper rolls.

[P.S. Thank you to everyone who saved them for me! Look what you helped create ^^]

Our room is the typical white 4 wall apartment color. Ugly and boring. We have a dark wood bed, with light tan bedding, and now we have this bright orange artwork. So I bought pillows and painted a lamp to add colors. On Color Splash, one of my favorite shows! he always states, "add three of the same color to create an impact" Impact it is.

Show and Tell Tuesday!

2010-06-22T22:39:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, but I've had an itch to post.

So I am. Right now.

That was a picture of my little girl helping with her Father's Day present .. So sweet.

We [as in B & C and I] went garage sale shopping a few weeks ago. We were on a mission for an end table. I found one, decent, we made our first stop about 90 minutes into ~~driving~~ shopping. I ran up to the table thinking I just scored a deal! $80.00 that was not a deal. But I did find this beaut and my little munchkin was begging for attention outside of the car.. then the woman told me her Mother In Law brought this from Europe and the Mother in Law has the same name as my mom, I didn't have the heart to bargain and I bought it for $15. Probably not worth it, although my little girl loves it. And I love her.

I made this a few months ago, and now that I look at the picture -- there's apparently a strand that didn't want to be like all the rest. Hummrrr. I'll fix it later.

None the less. I love it!

This picture is after sitting in a car for an hour with the windows down and it being hot and humid outside.

Needless to say, I made that!

A friend of mine had a baby girl so I made these for her. A wipes case and a hair bow holder complete with the little girls name :)

There you have it!

Enjoy!

Homecoming- -!!

2010-06-17T17:38:00.001-05:00

My Mr. B is coming home soon! I now know why Ginny didn't get the chance to post often -- she was too busy. As am I. I had ONE day off of work during the two week vaca from my hubby. With a little one at home to take care of, I am very tired, getting sick, and worn out.

But I don't get a break until next week. You see, he is to arrive home in two days -- the day after is Father's Day, the day after that -- is my parents 30th Wedding Anniversary -- not to mention I work Monday through Friday at my day job.

No fear.

I'm tough ;)

However, I did do lots of things while I was "away"

For instance, I redid something in EVERY room of our apartment. Well except the laundry room. I take that back, I did the laundry. So I cleaned it ;) But there has been a project for every room and you will see once hubby is back and I'm feeling better.

I also will show you my super duper adorable fathers day present and hopefully the present to my parents [cross your fingers] will turn out a-okay.

And I started making freezer meals!-!-!!!!

Chicken Cheesy Enchiladas

Mexican Cheesy Rice

Baked Ziti

Hamburgers - not a meal but at least a start ..

And I will be attempting Crock Pot Lasagna tomorrow :-)

And now I will leave you with a picture of my darling girl on a date with Mommy and Daddy to the park

Help!

2010-06-09T23:21:00.002-05:00

Am I the only one with the problem where I cannot follow anyone else and cannot see who follows me?!

This is so annoying!

Any suggestions -- please let me know!

Oh - Oh - It's Magic ..

2010-06-07T22:55:00.002-05:00

I recently went on a trip with Mr. B to Joann's .. oh how I could spend hours at Joann's ..

Sadly -- he was in a "hurry" -- so I took my time :) Hahaha, not really. But I walked along an aisle and found a package of reeds for 97 cents! I kinda knew it was meant to be. Right then and there I knew I would create something "magical" with it. And love it.

And it was so easy!

Needed:

Candle

Reeds -found in the fake flower section

Hot glue and gun

Twine

Scissors, Exact-o knife, wire cutters -- something sharp

1 - Its super easy -- measure your reeds to about a 1/4 inch longer than the candle. Cut. [the wire cutters worked best, however, they aren't pictured] And repeat. I made mine to various lengths. Not only did I think it would look better -- but I'm not that good at straight lines ;)

2 - Start gluing around your candle with the reeds. Be careful since the glue will make the candle melt. Just relax. It'll be fixed and you won't even see it!

3 - I glued several together at a time, in bunches of 10-15 and let it dry in the mold of the candle. I then glued the reeds together -- around -- the candle. And tied with twine. Wa-la. It's magic.

June 5th, 2010

2010-06-05T00:06:00.000-05:00

I just thought I could share a little about myself.

I work two jobs, have one darling [almost] 14 month old, and a wonderful husband in the military.

Tomorrow he leaves for two weeks. And it seems like forever to me.

Last year he left for 8+ months and I saw him 3 days out of that.. Not to mention he saw our daughter 3 days out of the 8+ months.

Before he left, I went in for a 6 week check up. My doctor found something weird, took a biopsy. My husband left a week ago knowing nothing. I had no answers for him. When he left, we were not able to contact each other [he went to his training] I will never forget the conversation I had with him one of the first times I got to talk to him. I put Baby C down on a blanket and sat in her rocking chair and told him what the doctors had found out, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 pre-cancer.

Being in the Army, you do not cry. We were on the phone 3 or 4 minutes and he got off saying, "I've gotta go. I love you. Bye." I could hear the tears being choked back.

Our daughter was 8 weeks old at that point. I was going back and forth between doctors trying to find the best thing to do. Worried that I would never be able to see my child turn one, say I love you, or worst of all, never see my husband again -- we opted for surgery.

I had surgery when our daughter was 12 weeks old. I will never forget that morning. It was a Friday. My mom, dad, and daughter went with me. The hardest thing I ever had to do was lay in that bed getting prepped for surgery, not knowing if I would come out of it to see my baby wake up for the morning. She wore a purple sleeper that had green prince charming frogs on it. She laid in her stroller as I kissed her good-bye and I will see you later.

The surgery went very good. I am healed and it is in Stage 1. I do not talk about my surgery or the time that I was alone because it isn't easy to think about.

Although I made it and I am now stronger than ever, with my husband leaving again tomorrow makes me worry that bad news will happen again. I do not think that it will, however, it is in the back of my mind of what happened last time he left.

Fluffy Soft Sugar Cookies!

2010-05-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

I made the best sugar cookies I have ever made!

And I have made A L O T!

In case you didn't know, I LOVE sugar cookies.

This whole eating healthy-lose-baby-weight thing isn't going to work well now that I have this recipe ..

Ok so I actually got it from this link. [I don't have the direct entry but its under her cookie exchange]

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 c sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 c milk

4 1/2 c flour

1 1/4 t baking soda

4 t baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar, butter, and eggs.

Mix dry ingredients and add slowly into wet mixture.

Add milk and vanilla.

Roll out the dough pretty thick - 1/2 inch is what she reccomends.

Use lots of flour!!

Cut with cookie cutter.

Place about an inch apart on a cookie sheet.
I used a silicone baking sheet.

Let cool and frost. [I made a frosting to go with it, but I didn't think it spread very well so I instead went for the can stuff]

Result -- fluffiest, softest, sweetest [but not too sweet] sugar cookie!! I can't eat just ONE!

Rocking Chair Reveal

2010-05-19T23:28:00.007-05:00

I had this chair -- as a child. So it is a few years old!

None the less, can you see the detail of the fabric fraying on it?! It needed some love.

I sanded. And sanded. Painted. Sanded. ~~Screamed~~. Sanded. Glazed. Rubbed.
Then I cut and stapled. Cut more. Stapled again. Cut and sewed. Stapled and stapled. Screamed again. And stapled once more to get the end result of ...

Wa-la!

And in case you need a chuckle -- here is my ray of sunshine!

Hope you enjoy!

I'm so blessed to have this chair pass on from me to mine.

I'm linking this to parties!! :-)

Strawberry Rhubarb Jally

2010-05-18T23:10:00.000-05:00

So I did it. I did what everyone looked at me crazy for.

I made jelly/jam in the crock pot Sunday night.

It looks so pretty here too! I am one proud lady!

Sadly, I did not take an after picture.

But I based my recipe off of this link, [hope that link worked..] [btw -- this lady made me fall in lurrrrveee with my crock pot. So much so, I got THREE for Christmas!]

I've even made homemade yogurt in my crock pot because of this woman.

If I ever meet her, besides being giddy, I would be one estatic lady!

By the way -- whats the difference between jelly and jam?

I'm not sure of the "technical stuff" so it'll be called "jally"

Anyways, on to the good stuff --

I used:

3 containers of strawberries, quartered

about-- 5 rhubarb stalks

3 cups of sugar

1 package of "sure jell" pectin [to thicken]

lemon zest

orange zest

I added the first three ingredients, a splash of water, cooked it on high for a few hours, realized it was too "soupy", bought sure jell, added more sugar, and the sure jell. Decided I needed to use that lemon and it would add a good tartness, I grated some in it.. then I thought - Hey an orange! Why not?!

So I did. I cooked it on high for a few more hours .. about 6 total. I turned it on low.. My husband then turned it on off 3 hours later. When I woke up in the morning - wa-la! Jally!

I ate it on my toast in the morning.

It had the right about of sweetness and tartness.

Amazing.

And I did it all by myself. Basically.

Life Lately

2010-05-17T23:23:00.000-05:00

Hey!

Now I can give the update, my grandpa passed away Wednesday night.

I spoke to him three hours before and he responded.

I was the last person for him to ever acknowledge.

After a long and suffering battle, its over. I can't help but be happy its over, but sad he isn't here.

He was one of the greatest men I've ever met. Not to mention, until the day he passed, he was still madly in love with my grandma. Their love story makes my heart melt. I long for a love like theirs. It was 64 years in December.. Can you even imagine that?! :)

However, now that the memorial and visitiation has all gone on, now I can finally work on my blog that I've been trying so hard to start. It has just been a mess of things going on.

I'll let you know some things I've been doing so you don't think I've been lazy and grieving this past week:

*Strawberry Rhubarb Jelly ~ In the CROCK POT! < -- anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE my crock pot! And my crock pot loves me!

*Baby Girl Hair Bow Hanger

*Rocking Chair for Baby C

*Painting Picture Frames -- you'll see soon :-)

*-Tomorrow I'm making Potato Soup in the crock pot!

*Recovering a diaper wipe case

*Tutu for the darling Baby C

*Quick Candle Redo

*What to do with an ugly vase

Ok -- so see -- I've been busy! I promise! Not to mention I work a full time job, have 2 children - 1 is Baby C and 1 is my husband ;)

So -- There you have it!

Abby

Goals Are the Drive of Life

2010-04-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

I just thought I could introduce myself a little bit since I'm new to the blog world :)

I'm Abby! Nice to [meet] you! I'm a mother, wife, and addicted to anything fun. Also, :)! If I have them all over the place in a post. Don't question me -- I'm a fun gal, I swear!

About the name:

When I became pregnant, my husband and I could not think of a name for our lovely new baby to join the world with us. Someone very intelligent, [cough cough] said,

"Hey, I'm A, you are a B.. why not C?"

And thats how it was born. The name that is ;)

Therefore, we are the ABC'S!

Like I said before, Nice to [meet] you! Hope you enjoy!

Goals for this year:

1: Obtain a full time job. -- I work for a local insurance company, however, my job is classified as temporary. I would love to work a full time career with benefits. Right now, I have none. I also work part time at Red Lobster as a server.

2: Lose the last bits of baby weight.. I'll admit it on here to hopefully help me lose it once and for all. 14 pounds is what I need to lose .. Tough times ahead of me .. :) I have weak knees for chocolate ..

3: Obtain followers!! I don't care if my blog is the best of the best, I just want people to be interested in what I write! :)

So far I don't see many people checking here, so I'd ask you all to say Hi! if you get a chance ..

Love to all

Abby

Better Late Than Never

2010-04-16T23:33:00.000-05:00

I'm backkkk!!

First of all, I am really sorry it has taken me a few weeks to get back to you all.

My grandfather is really ill and he is sadly the only grandpa alive on my mom's side, however, my husband has most of his still. [Which is awesome, I love them all! Hi Guys!!]

So I have been dealing with all of that and not to sound rude and mean and selfish, but it is really tough to watch a person you've seen all your life be tough and strong, be so weak. He said the sweetest thing to his wife of 60 YEARS PEOPLE!

"I'm not scared of dying, I'm scared of leaving you."

For a man so strong and so weak, he really makes my heart melt.

Secondly, my baby celebrated her very first birthday! I had so much fun decorating and celebrating with her!!

All the stress was worth every second of it just to see her happy little face!

ABC's of My Life

Anyone Else??

White Chocolate Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Ooops! Oh my!

*New Design Layout*

From Frumpy to Fantastic!

Headband Tutorial!

*Personalized Stool*

It's A Birthday!

Baby Shower Cake

Runner's Block? I Think Not!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Orange Vanilla Frozen Pops

Applique Tutorial

MIA Much?

Sun [Oven] Dried Tomatoes

Didya See It?!

Motivation .. ?!

Flower Petal Cupcakes -- Tutorial!

Party Party Partyyyy!

Tutorial Tuesday!

Decorate With Metal

Earring Holder from the Dollar Tree

Test

Problem Vs. Solution

Happy Independence Day!!

Toilet Paper + Art .. ?

Show and Tell Tuesday!

Homecoming- -!!

Help!

Oh - Oh - It's Magic ..

June 5th, 2010

Fluffy Soft Sugar Cookies!

Rocking Chair Reveal

Strawberry Rhubarb Jally

Life Lately

Goals Are the Drive of Life

Better Late Than Never

New Design Layout

Personalized Stool