11.19.2011

Raspberry Sauce for Pork Roast

I'd better get this up here before I forget. This is a wonderful recipe Ben made for me once and is also the first real food I ate in the first trimester. My stomach and I paid dearly for it afterward...it is that good. I'm just posting the directions for sauce and seasonings.


Raspberry Sauce (over pork)


Pork Rub:
- 1/2 tsp. of each of the following: salt, garlic salt, chili powder
- mix together and rub over meat before cooking (you'll be glad you did)


Sauce:
- 1 C raspberry jelly
- 1 C ketchup
- 2 Tb. white vinegar
- 2 tsp. chili powder


Combine all of the above in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes or until smooth. (stir often frequently until you get all the lumps out)


You can either brush on some of the sauce for the last 15 minutes if you're roasting, or pour it over the pork for a deliciously fruity gravy. Try other flavors of preserves like plum or apple!

Easy Wall Art

If you're like me you hate to throw things away that have at least some creative potential. Or, again like me, have a decorating budget of next to nilch...you think, "I wish I could spruce up my walls but not spend half my paycheck at the craft store." Bet you didn't know that you probably have everything you need to do just that in your craft room, garage, attic, or can easily be gotten at a local thrift store.

Here is what I made today.

This is what you'll need.
  • old calendar
  • straight edge + exacto knife (paper cutter or a steady hand with scissors will work)
  • matte board (safe cutting surface)
  • glue gun
  • picture frame larger than your selected artwork
  • fabric scrap large enough to fill the frame

1. Trim away your soon to be masterpiece. Don't stress if your edges are not absolutely perfect. (mine weren't) An important lesson in crafting is to look at everything from a real-life distance; you don't ever actually see anything as up close as when you were making it - shoulders hunched, neck craned, nose practically touching the table. However, if your straight-edge or picture really start sliding around use some masking tape to keep them in line.



2. Lay your fabric face down and place the backing of the picture frame in the center. Now is a good time to trim away excess fabric. (you only need to wrap around the backing 1" - 1.5", enough so the fabric isn't pulling away from the glue) Glue down the edges in a gift-wrapping fashion to keep the front smooth and taut.

3. Optional, depending on your frame. The frame I'm using is a vintage thrift-store find so it doesn't have all the necessary backing and the glass needs some TLC. Use some thick scraps of whatever you have laying around as spacers to keep the picture in place - foam core board, cardboard, packing foam...you get the idea. (balsa wood scraps used here)



4. Attach artwork using a little hot-glue and proudly display on any lonely wall or bookshelf!


This could also be a really fun way to have a rotating display of kids' artwork! What's a better way to make your little artist feel special by having their handiwork displayed in a gallery-worthy frame? Rather than gluing the art to the fabric panel, just make sure to have a piece of glass in place.

11.07.2011

Accomplishments

Lately I've had quite a bit of time to think. (wallow) While thinking can be great, when left unchecked it can lead  to places that shouldn't be revisited. (middle school...) Sooner or later that kind of aimless wandering into the dark corners of the mind gets downright scary. (time to google pictures of puppies) The time comes when it's do or die, (in middle school - with no puppy) and doing much of anything when you're miserable and pregnant (redundant, no?) is just....hard. So, when there's no one there to deliver the ugly truth, (a mirror) it's time to pull up those big-girl pants (the fuzzy pajama ones) and face it alone. Here's what you do should you ever find yourself as desperate: You say, "Self!" (the mental cracking has begun) "Why not do something about it? You can shower! You can open that terribly difficult cellophane around your Cup'O'Noodles!" And so I did, but I didn't stop there. I decided personal hygiene and preparing simple, prepackaged foods wasn't going to cut it this time around. (but maybe next time) I was tired of staring at my horribly split ends and decided to take action. (dramatic climax?) Not to worry, I've trimmed my own hair a few times before now and it always comes out even. (anti...climax) And it did turn out pretty awesome. So, I guess the moral to this little story would be...um.... (what's a story without a moral, and pictures) Choose to be happy...with what you can manage to do in life...as long as you do your best. (that wasn't slapped together in 5 seconds...no sir)

An illustration. (slapped together in MORE than 5 seconds)

11.04.2011

ere-way egnant-pray!

It's official. We're 10 weeks pregnant today! We had our first prenatal visit with our new midwife. (I really like her despite my grumpy attitude about waiting this long to be seen. No worries, I'm generally pretty grumpy about everything at this point.) Although our little baby is only 3.5 cm today we caught a glimpse of what might be in store for us down the road. This little one is a mover and a shaker! During the ultrasound he/she was constantly wriggling around.

The best I could do today is to take a picture with my phone of the ultrasound prints. (I hang my head in shame as a serious amateur photographer.)

The lines at the bottom track the heartbeat. (!!!!!)

Before I was pregnant I used to look at ultrasound pictures the way most people might look at a Picasso. (Head cocked to the side slightly, "Oh...yeah. Cool...baby?") Even though this is one of the more recognizable pictures, the head is in the top-right of the black circle, the hands and feet are the smaller little blobs that don't look connected.