Sharing my travels

I have never been to Europe, but I do travel around the blog world alot! I know, that sentence was rather cheesy, but you won't care once you start visiting these sites I have found:

A new sewing project for every day in November, what better way to get ready for Christmas: Sew Mama, Sew

Do you know about Etsy? All handmade products! Like ebay, but craftier and better. Often you can find blog through Etsy as well!

This place may be even better than Ikea! Can you imagine??

Are you into green living? Danny Seo's blog features a delectable assortment of green home projects. He also has many books you can find at your public library (or at least at the winnipeg ones!), like Green Giving.
Actualy, there is a great post here about the book, with some pictures!

Last, but not least, low and behold, Martha Stewart has a blog

That is all I have time for now. I am not adding any of these links to the sidebar, so take time to look and bookmark them yourselves! I am really enjoying the first one right now!

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The camera is home, I CAN POST!

I don't like writing photoless posts, so if I don't have any good photos I stay away. In this case Dave took the camera to work on sunday, and left it there until yesterday. I have some 'business' photos to get out of the way, and then a few from the last 2 weeks! I didn't realize it had been such a length of time since posting. Eeeck, bare with me, and thanks for checking to read us!

While the family was out the girls painted pottery. I mailed it just the other day, but here is a sneak peak before it arrives on your door step:




Corrina carved her first pumpkin with Daddy (post Halloween). She was good at scraping the inards out of the pumpkin, and was pretty good at putting them into the pot and not on the floor. Needless to say dave still had lots of afterward clean-up! I wasn't there, but that's probably a good thing because of the mess.

Corrina LOVES to read books now. She grabs her favorites (anything with flaps!) and brings them over to the couch for story time. She is doing great at recognizing sounds because of our reading; I can put the books in front of her and ask her to show me "BaaaBaaa" and she can find the books with sheep in them!Dave has a beard now, that he grew for a bet from me, and he also has funny squishy balls that we all love!

Next week Corrina will have her second implant surgery. The surgery date is November 23rd. Keep us in your prayers.
One last funny thing: we live in Central Canada, it is Nov 14, and there is no snow on the ground. The temperature is barely below zero, and while yes, i am enjoying this, the smart part of me realizes that this is probably a large part of global warming: world is slowly dying, and we are killing it. What are you doing now, today, to stop that?
Here's some inspiration: A handmade Christmas (Pledge)
I have not commited yet, but I think this will be a large part of our Christmas, if I can get Dave to stop buying himself his own Christmas presents and sticking them in the closet (comics and muppets!)

In my family Halloween received almost more attention that Christmas! My mom loved to help us put together costumes, always homemade, we carved lots of big pumpkins, roasted the seeds (which I never ate) and ran around our neighborhood mingling, scaring and collecting candy. Now that I have a child I found I was almost as excited as my mother used to be. This year though, because of demanding school assignments, Dave was in charge of putting Corrina's costume together. He was inspired by the flashy light on the side of her head and decided to go with a Borg (star trek) themed costume. She ended up looking more like a generic robot, but, she was among the few children we saw who actually had homemade costumes plus she sported real working lights!
Dare to Compare!


We took Corrina to one of the large city malls where they were hosting a trick or treat event. Basically the kids went up to stores that were handing out candy and were given treats! It was warm, safe, quick and fun! Corrina did not understand why people were giving her candy, and would look at people with a "are you sure you were suppose to do that" sorta face when something was plopped into her bag. She would stop in the middle of the mall halls and start sifting through her back trying to figure out what was in there. She didn't know that she was carry around every child's dream, she thought they were little toys! That is, until mommy unwrapped a lollipop and enlightened her!

Now, although the mall was alot of fun, I just can't pass up going door to door because I think it is such a community bonding event. I think it is a neat time to meet new adults and kids and really feel a sense of living together. Yes, I know it revolves around death and candy, but I always find that people are excited to see their neighborhood kids out doing something safe with their time. I think it is a shame that people get down on teenagers for trick or treating because the things some teens end up doing on that night are less than safe and really don't build community. (of course, I do expect teens to dress up if they are going out and about!).

Anyway, enough with my rant, let me tell you about Dave's rant: "janie, i think most of these costumes were bought at Walmart, that sucks" Dave could not stand all the mass produced factory costumes. He was really upset that people don't make costumes anymore, but we can understand why: life is busy and people don't necessarily learn certain skills anymore because they have become obsolete. Dave took the challenge though and learned a few sewing skills to put this costume together. I am proud of him. I felt his rant too, in a different way. Now there are certain stores that we don't shop at because I don't believe it is right to dress my child in clothes made by exploited children in other countries. Children making clothes for children is not my idea of Christian living. I kinda felt this way about halloween this year too. I doubt that the majority of these store bought costumes were ethically produced by fairly paid workers. I feel this way when Christmas rolls around too. It would be impossible and expensive to everything ethically produced, but I challenge you to consider the harm our holidays and celebrations do to our fellow humans around the globe (as I write this I am realizing that the little lights on Corrina's costume were probably not made in decent working conditions. Does anyone know where you can buy Christmas lights that are made ethically?). We may be having fun but at what cost? In the spirit of halloween, I guess that's my scary message.

Important Banana Shrinky Dink Corduroy Bliss!

Important: Last night we received a letter in the mail stating that MB will pay for Corrina's second implant! She will hear with both ears! Thank you Lord, we are grateful! Isn't that the most wonderful pot/cooking dish you have ever seen?! Candace gave it to me for my birthday! It's the heaviest and wildest pot/dish I have ever seen! thanks love. As well, my friend Heather gave me a cupcake tree that holds sweet little cupcakes on delicious display! I am blessed!

Banana:

I found this Banana Cake recipe online and chose this one from the many posted because it only had 1/4 cup butter. That's pretty good for cake/cupcakes!

Banana Cake

This recipe is taken from an old, unidentified newspaper clipping, circa 1915.

One cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 2 eggs (1 white kept for icing), 1/4 cup sour milk, 1 teaspoon soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 cups flour, a little salt, 3 very ripe bananas. Cream sugar, butter and egg yolks. Mash and beat the bananas until smooth and add to the mixture. Add the sour milk and soda then the flour, into which the baking powder and salt have been sifted. Lastly, fold in the well-beaten egg white. Bake in a fairly deep pan about 10 inches by 10 inches in a moderate oven for 25 minutes. --M. C. J.

I put my oven on 350 degrees and this seemed to work well. I believe I baked for about 20 minutes. I didn't actually set the timer, so do keep your eye on these if you bake them.

Shrinky Dink:
I spoke in the very last post (did you read it?) about a craft night I had with a girlfriend, Allison. She is a perfect crafting companion! We found inspiration in this book/website and then went from there (oh, the book is called Craftivity and I highly suggest you check it out from your local library!). I had trouble getting a good photo of it, but this is what we created.

Corduroy:
I had some red and designish corduroy fabric lying around and I just happened to buy this wonderful new sewing book so I had to try a few projects out! I made this tote bag
And this Heidi Headband. I love them both, but have much to learn about sewing straight!

So, that's the last of my craftiness for about 2 months!

A treat

I cannot claim ingenuity on this one, many mothers before me have discovered the wonder of the blender indeed, but Corrina and I experienced it on a NEW level tonight! You know how evenings are, tiring, long, messy.... after bath time comes snack time which I usually rush through because it is followed by bedtime... while Corrina ran around the house in her daip-er (funny little way I say it sometimes) I began to brainstorm snack time.. we like variety in our house, and tonight I had settled on a little milk, a little yogurt, and a little banana... protein calcium fiber potassium here we come! Well, I quickly realized that we didn't have any fresh bananas, only frozen ones (yeah, you can see where this is going), so i dumped it all in the blender and we shared the most delicious smoothies! Corrina thought she had died and gone to dessert heaven, and I was just happy to suck back something that tasted sweet but lacked the sugar (I really have been trying to have less sugary, empty calories.. its HARD!). I guess because the bananas were so ripe when I froze them they had a powerful, delicious flavor in the drink. Snack time made happy!

I have done three crafty &/or sewing projects in the last week! I will share them very soon, I promise, and you will love them, i know!! School has been very demanding lately and is just starting to pick up even more. I have a number of major papers and assignments (videos of me practicing counselling skills... yikes!) due very soon. I am so excited to delve in and start my research, but it also means fewer evenings filled with creative things. However, when the daytime rolls around and I encounter different people in different ways throughout the day I am so thankful for the moments when I did sit down and study (social work, therapy skills, theories of counseling, human behavior, and theology too!) because I feel empowered, I feel helpful, I feel able to understand the world to a better degree than if I had spent the night with fabric in hand. So, from here on in I believe that sewing and crafting will become my reward for diligent studies, and not the other way around as it has been! Off to book land I go (I should have dave draw a picture of bookland for me that I can hang around the house for inspiration!!! See, i just can't get crafting/creativity out of my head!).
Lots of love to all my readers, near and far

I'm thankful for YOU

Our potluck was amazing. The food brought by friends filled our home with warm, sweet smells. An assortment of desserts were enjoyed by all with many happy "MmmmMmmm's" filling the room! There was more than enough food for everyone, and amazingly very few leftovers! Just the way it should be! I will make soup from the turkey carcass to make every little bit count! Here are the pictures of friends sharing delicious and sentimental moments together. I was so busy with dinner prep that I forgot to take pictures until after everyone had filled their plates, so the bowls look a little empty, but you get the idea of the feast!
My house was spic and span by the time everyone left. Actualy, they all took dish washing shifts. I think EVERYONE except Dave and I washed, dried or put away! Thanks Friends
Sarah!
A Happy Dave!
A wonderful Allison

Our leafy-o-natural decorations
Bre and Tricia
Corrina was the perfect little hostest-with-the-mostest... she handed cookies out to everyone, over and over again. Eventually someone told her no more cookies, than she started going around to everyone and wagging her finger at them, trying to tell them no more cookies! Instead of handing out cookies at this point she started eating them all herself!
Dig in: Allison, Bre, Edythe
Happy thanksgiving to you too Tricia! She means well!

Bre and Edythe
Karl (good friend from high school) and Dave (good husband from College!!!)
Candace, Tricia and Bre goofing around!

In other news I made Corrina a darling pom-pom hat for winter!

I'm not thankful yet

It is 1:30 on thanks giving monday and later today we are having a BIG potluck. Alot of people are coming to our house to eat and laugh. So, I will be thankful later today. As for now, I have a turkey to put in the oven! Lively, thankful pictures coming soon!

A productive morning

Autumn, if I haven't already said this, is my very favorite season of the year! I love the smell in the natural air, I love the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg in my house, I adore the way the trees naturally turn bright, bold hues of brown, yellow and red, and I prefer to put on cozy clothes, scarfs and hats over a swimsuit any day, but above all I love the versatility of pumpkins and squash. You can find the recipe for the healthy living Pumpkin Cream Cheese loaf pictured here. Your loaf will be even better if you happen to have a toddler in your house. Go ahead and let them add way too much cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg!
If you're like me you just can't wait for the loaf to cool before sampling the first piece. While the piece may not look nice on the plate it will taste delicious fresh from the oven!

studying

I am home studying for a counseling role playing video (I wish it were drama!) i have to record tomorrow. Dave is at a Church Alpha night, and he brought Corrina so I could have time to read. I thought if i took a picture of the ordeal and posted it on the blog that I might feel more motivated. If I don't stop getting distracted than I am lying to everyone about studying. Now that I have said I am studying I have to be studying. Our calculator is a funny little man with number buttons for a body. I am counting how many times the word angry is used in my text book. That's a lie.
Dave bought me this beautiful olive serving platter for my birthday. It will be used at our upcoming thanks givin' potluck with friends. The lovely candle is from him too, the candle holder is a little silver tray spray painted white (bought and given by my friend Allison).

The past month

Here I am at the computer equipped with words to write about the past month.
Our month began with a family reunion in Winnipeg at our small apartment! Mom and Dad Colvin arrived before everyone else and helped us with some much needed apartment improvements, as well as basic cleaning and prep for the arrival of the rest of the Colvin's!
Here are some photo's highlighting the time we had together!





Dave had the brilliant idea of having an all-Holidays dinner with the a Turkey and all the works, including decorations:




I don't have a picture of the outing but the all the girls set out one afternoon to paint ceramics! It was neat to sit together and see the creativity come out of my family members! Everything turned out beautifully (the girls haven't seen their pieces yet so they will have to trust me on this one)! I think while we were painting the guys were racing cars and I heard it rumored that Dad actually got up to the highest speed (correct me if i'm wrong)!




It was really great to play, bake, eat, talk, laugh, and shop! We also had family photos done, which I am very excited to pick up in a day or two!

Thanks everyone for your visit with us. Claire, I hope your new place is coming together in a new and fresh way. Mark and Rachel, we hope you are feeling more settled and making new connections daily. Mom and Dad, we hope you are still finding time to relax together with you new busy schedules. As for us, Corrina and I are sick, Dave is so busy with his art class, youth group, and other church responsibilities, and everyone keeps asking if Corrina got a hair cut. She didn't!

This is turning into a LONG post, so I better get some good comments!
My birthday also passed last week! Thanks to friends and family for making it a special day/weekend. Dave and I went square dancing at Bre's church's Annual square dance! It was a hoot. I wish I could join a square dancing troop without being mercilessly mocked! Dave gave me some fabulous presents for my birthday: a lovely serving tray (picture to come), candles, some delicious liquor (bailey's, and melond liquer), an itunes cd, a gift card for a book store, and a Mystery science 3000 movie! I also had a very meaningful lunch with my friend Allison and enjoyed our time together dinning, shopping and talking!

And lastly, we went to look at another north end housing project house, on a very lovely street (although the surrounding neighbors hoods are quite scary), with a big yard! The house has three bedrooms, a drywalled basement with no cracks or problems, an open concept kitchen and living room (well, there is a halfwall between the two so one can see the living room from the kitchen), a small dinning area, a big bathroom upstairs, and a half bathroom on the main floor. The kitchen is a great shape and size, the living room is a little less than we have now, but there is potential for doing more with the basement! The house has a high efficiency furnace, new windows, new electrical (very nice light fixtures), and is very modern looking! We are currently trying to decide if we want to make an offer to purchase.