Garden Melodies

Saddest Songs in the World

2011-12-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is a conversation between me and my co-worker. I've never laughed or cried so much. Enjoy!
Co-worker: few songs are better than Faith Hill's Where are you Christmas

don't come in my office.....

I might be crying

me: hahahahaha

amen to that

i'm getting choked up just thinking about it

Co-worker: :D

me: this one kills me too

k hate when i comes on cause i know i'm going to cry

haha

Co-worker: oh yeah. Natalie (wife) loves that one

me: killer

Co-worker: reminds me of this song

me: tears

Co-worker: have you heard that one before?

me: no

its killing me

i'm listening to it again

Co-worker: did you see the whole thing

yes, please do

me: yeah, the gun picture was a little weird/morbid

Co-worker: yeah

I had never seen the video. just heard the song plenty

me: who writes these songs..they are so sad

Co-worker: seriously

well sad

but then warm and fuzzy

she knew Him. he was behind the couch with her

tough song to get through without feeling the pull in your swallow instinct

or whatever I'm saying

me: agreed

Co-worker: any more sad songs?

me: let me see...

oh i got one

Co-worker: ah yes, one of my dad's favorites

me: http://www.spinner.com/2007/05/03/the-25-most-exquisitely-sad-songs-in-the-whole-world-no-25/

i dont think this list is accurate

Co-worker: even better

#13 is "Naked as we come"

that's a sad song?

yeah, that list is worthless

me: #1 - booo. didnt even think about crying

i like how it has the songs broken down

"the breakdown"
"the waterworks"
"casualty count"

me: ok this is seriously the saddest song in the whole world:

Co-worker: great, now I have to close my door again

tear stains on my cheeks

me: haha

Co-worker: the saddest part is the boy's name is Jamie

Co-worker: this song is making me laugh. that's probably a bad thing

me: no heart

haha

so cheesy

Co-worker: oh, so this is LDS?

"families are forever"

dead giveaway

me: dead give away

Co-worker: I get it!

me: and the temple shot

Co-worker: the mom is going to build him a rainbow while she is in heaven

awesome

me: what a thoughtful dead mom

Co-worker: hopefully Jamie gets a double rainbow

A DOUBLE RAINBOW

me: all the way across the sky

Co-worker: (have you seen that youtube video)

me: oh yes

have you seen the remix

Co-worker: been a while

me: its always been too long with that one

and to think we wouldnt have this video if jamie's mom hadnt died

Sock Buns

2011-11-13T21:50:00.001-08:00

I was just looking on Pintrest, like I do, and I came across this hair style. Its a sock bun. I had to try it. I went directly to my sock drawer and grabbed the nearest tube sock. I cut off the toe and roll it in on it's self (kind of like you are trying to turn it inside out). After making a high pony-tail you put the end of you hair through the hole and start rolling. As you roll the sock, spread your hair around evenly to create the perfect bun. It took like 2 seconds.

Fallingwater Gingerbread House Plans

2011-11-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

Brenton and I have decided to make our plans for Fallingwater available for PURCHASE!! We have had several requests over the past year so we decided to let other people have a go at it. Good Luck!

Here are some links to previous posts about the Fallingwater Gingerbread House:
Fallingwater Gingerbread House
A Little More on the Gingerbread House
Fallingwater Gingerbread House EXPLOSION

Wedding Cake

2011-09-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends from high school got married this summer and asked me to do his cake. Of course I couldn't say no. I love making cakes even though I get stresses while I'm making them.

It is all worth it when its all done.

I had a different wedding the same day that I was doing flowers for so I was a little crunched for time. Luckily, 2 of the layers were foam so I could make most of it several days in advance. This was my first fondant experience. I learned a lot with this cake. Here is a step by step:

I hot glued the foam blocks together and cheese grated down the corners and edges. I left the layer separate from each other so the fondant would be easier to put on.

I put down a layer of buttercream so the fondant would stick. I also hammered in shish-kabob sticks to keep the layers together. I used a rainbow chip cake for the top layer (as requested by the bride and groom).

Strangely, the dry fondant leached a hot pink color out of the frosting. It looked tie-dyed!! Obviously that was no good so I used a damp paper towel to moisten the whole thing before I did the tip work.

Hippie wedding cake... avoided.

I had to drive the cake to the reception and I was afraid it would slid all over...

Cinder blocks...problem solved. That cake did not budge.

In the end the stress is all worth it.

Harry Potter 7.5 and Totally Awesome T-shirts

2011-09-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

For Harry Potter 7.5 my friend Martha and I decided to make t-shirts. Why?

A) We love Harry Potter.

B) We love making t-shirts.

It was Martha's idea so I cant take all the credit.

For theses shirts cut out 8 1/2 X 11 sheets of freezer paper.

Using an inkjet printer, print out your preferred saying and cut out the individual letters. Make sure the letters print out on the paper side not the plastic side.

Place the letters on the shirt and iron them on plastic side down. (Don't worry they peal off really easy).

Put bleach in a spray bottle and squirt around the letters.

Press the hot iron on the sprayed area for instant color change.

(I usually spray a few squirts then iron, then spray some more then iron)

When you are content with the contrast, peel off the wax paper letters.

Wash.

Wear totally awesome shirt.

Me and Martha at the Harry Potter 7.5!!!

My shirt: "Make Love Not Horcruxes".

Martha's shirt: I solemnly swear I am up to no good".

Owl Apron

2011-08-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Recently I decided I wanted to spice up my boring old apron. I didn't have a lot of time or money so I took some scraps I already had around and downloaded this free pattern.
For the bigger owl I increased the "adult" owl's size by 150% and kept the "adolescent" owl the same.
After I cut out all the pieces I used iron on transfer put it all together. It has to be done in layers so just make sure you do it in the right order. I put the wings down first then the body and the stomach, then the rings around the eyes and finished by hot gluing buttons on for the eyes.

It's all glass...

2011-08-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Two funny stories:

1. If you know me you know I'm a total pack-rat. I'm convinced that someday I'll be on the show Hoarders, Buried Alive. My friend Tristan is an extreme minimalist (click HERE to read more about that journey) he tries to convince me all the time to get rid of stuff that I don't need. I took his advice and went through all of my stuff and got rid of a TON of stuff. I was talking to him later and told him how I got rid of a lot of stuff I didn't need. He was so proud until he found out I started collecting glass bottles...FAIL at being a minimalist.

2. This one has to do with the title of the post. Growing up my family loved going to yard sales. To this day if I see a yard sale sign or pass one something inside me says, "Stop... you never know if you are going to find __________ (insert some random item)."

The code word in my family for a bad yard sale is, "It's all glass." This phrase expanded to all bad yard sales, even if there is nothing glass there. My father coined that phrase because who would ever want to stop at a yard sale with a bunch of glass. Well father, the "all glass" yard sales are now my favorite.

Courtney's Bridals

2011-07-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

I must admit that is is one of my favorites. It really took me by surprise. I think its the lilies. There are only 3 kinds of flowers: Stargazer Lilies, Hot Lady Roses, and White Stock.

AND it smells AMAZING!

Bad Ugly Face

2011-06-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to give a shout out to my brother for taking the WORST picture of me. of. all. time.

He threatened to use it against me but I will foil his plan and use it first...

One of the funny sayings at my house is, "That is a bad ugly face." (Some one said it when they were a kid and my mom thought it was hilarious so she kept it alive.)

This is a perfect example of a bad ugly face.

Ha!

Fallingwater Gingerbread House EXPLOSION

2011-06-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to the life and death of mine and Brenton's Falling Water Gingerbread House. It was built in November of 2011, became famous, then died on June 11, 2011 in a blaze of glory.

The tender memory of the gingerbread house will stay alive through the kind words said by others. I would like to share a few posts written about our house:

My personal favorite: The Blogging Couple! Ha

http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2010/12/24/couple-makes-frank-lloyd-wrights-fallingwater-gingerbread-house

The most distinguished comment about the house:
Melodie, WELL DONE and entirely deserved FIRST PLACE. Great grandfather, (I'm FLW's great grandaughter and an interior designer) would be proud and looking for royalties! LOL. Your rendition was festive and infinitely more attractive than the "thrown up candied Santa intestines" of your competitor. There is just no accounting for taste. Cheers! Melissa

On June 11, 2011, in a field in Wyoming the Falling Water Gingerbread House was blown to smithereens. In just a few short minutes hundreds of firecrackers, fountains, roman candles, other explosives and gas undid : 12 hours of design, 40 hours of building and decorating, 164 pieces of gingerbread, 12 square feet of gingerbread dough, 8 bags of powdered sugar for frosting, 40 sleeves of large Smarties used for the stone on the exterior, and three batches of hard candy.

R.I.P

We will always remember you!

Stats about the Falling Water Gingerbread House:
Total views on my blog : 31,184

December 2010 alone : 22,356

Brenton and I have decided to make our plans for Fallingwater available for PURCHASE!! We have had several requests over the past year so we decided to let other people have a go at it. Good Luck!

Original Posts: Falling Water Gingerbread House, A little more on the gingerbread house

Easy Hair-do:

2011-04-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Me trying THIS:

Sometimes...

2011-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I want:
- a road bike
- to never work again
- to visit Africa
- to have a garden
- to shave my head (aka to never have to do my hair)
- to visit Harry Potter Land
- my own room
- it to never snow again
- to craft all day, everyday
- to have a life DJ (Mine would be Angela T.)
- to visit the gardens of Europe
- to know if Castle and Becket will ever get together
- a really nice camera
- my sister to live closer
- to go to the pool
- to read Les Miserables
- to meet Matthew Bomer/ date him
- to have all of my stuff out of storage

to be continued...

Headbands

2011-03-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

For these headbands you will need:

fabric

wire

needle and thread

scissors and ruler or rotary cutter and mat

fabric measuring tape (or some way to measure your head)

sewing machine

Begin by measuring your head from the base of your neck to crown, (mine happens to be 24 inches) then add 10 inches to get your total length (my total would be 34 inches).

Cut your piece of fabric 6 inches wide and the length that you figured in the step before.

(Mine would be 6"x 34"). I like using a rotary cutter and a mat but you can use a ruler and scissors.

Fold the cut piece of fabric in half length wise and with wise so both ends are together.

Cut a triangle off the end so both ends taper. Cut only the open sides!

AVOID cutting any sides that have folds!

(The cut doesn't have to be specific. Just make sure you

leave enough room to turn it inside out later on.)

Put right sides together and begin sewing. Sew up one end then along the long side.

Line up the fabric with the outside of the presser-foot.

Sew ONLY ONE end shut.

When you get to the other end, REMEMBER to leave it open!

Turn your fabric around and sew a second seam just inside of the first seam.

This is making an area for the wire to go. I just line up the first seam with the edge of the

presser-foot and follow it all the way back to the other end.

Use the open end to turn it inside-out.

At this point you have a big fabric tube. I like to iron mine (using my hair straightener :) so it is flat and easier to wire.

Take your wire (I just asked for wire at a craft store) and make a loop at the end.

Slide it between the 2 seams.

When the wire is running the full length of the headband cut it and loop the end.

Fold the raw edge inside and sew up the end.

There are a lot of really fun ways to use this headband. My personal favorite is to tie

it in a knot to look like a flower. The wire it will hold pretty much any shape so be creative!

Picture Frames

2011-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

This is a really fun and easy project. All you need is a picture frame (use whatever old/dollar store frame cause you will just be covering the whole thing anyway), a colorful magazine or newspaper, and a hot glue gun.

Begin by rolling the magazine/newspaper in small tubes. My sister and I had a hard time getting the tubes to hold their shape so we ended up folding them. After they were folded I just ran a little streak of glue down the back so it wouldn't come undone.

After that you just start gluing the strips onto the picture frame. I started at the corner and

worked out. I tried to make sure the strips were varying lengths and colors.

This is another one we did for a baby girl shower. Originally it was a basketball frame.

Divine Caramel Apples

2011-02-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing I love in this world it is caramel apples. These apples take caramel apples to a whole new level. Apples dipped in caramel, dipped in chocolate, dipped in your favorite whatever... YUMMMMM. Here is how to do it:

Large Granny Smith Apples. You can use whatever kind of apple you want but I love the green-ness and tartness of the Granny Smith.

Put a popsicle stick in each one and dip it in caramel. I just used the caramel wrapped in those little plastic squares. On the back of the package it says to add water but I found that it sticks better to the apple if you do NOT add water. Melting in the microwave is fastest.

Set on wax paper to set up... about 20 min.

Take the carameled apples and dip it in chocolate (either white or milk). I like using Almond Bark because it is easy to melt and re-melt and it goes on really smoothly.

This is where it gets tricky. The chocolate has to be set up enough so the toppings wont drip off but not too hard or it wont stick at all. Just watch until the chocolate is done dripping and is starting to set up around the top.

Fun toppings:

Cinnamon sugar (my personal favorite)

Coconut

M&Ms

Cocoa Powder

Any candy bar (cut up)

Toffee

Gram Crackers

Oreos

If you are doing the one with the chocolate flipped over the solid background, just wait for the base chocolate to dry completely. Then use a fork to flip the chocolate on top.

* These are pretty much impossible to eat off the stick. Its easiest if you cut it off the core.

What Van Gogh would have done if he were a stamp collector ...

2011-01-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

One day my roommate and I were looking around DI and we came upon a really great stamp collection. We bought it, no questions asked. What was the obvious step after that??? Make a Van Gogh.

I have to give most of the credit to my roommate. She was the master mind behind the whole thing. We bought a large canvas and borrowed some Mod Podge from the neighbors. We organized the stamps into: flags, fruits/flowers, pictorial, foreign, Christmas, and presidents. We then just did a color by numbers.

Flags with white background- sky

Flags with dark background-hill at the bottom

Foreign- swirl in the middle and the moon

Pictorial-peak in the middle

Fruits/Flowers- stars

Presidents-Streak through the middle

The Christmas ones didn't make the cut, but I did use them later.

While we were working on our project we watched Charade. It seemed like an appropriate film while working on stamps. I have to admit about 3/4 of the way through this project (like 3 hours in) I never wanted to see another stamp again. It took a few days before I could feel good about it hanging in the apartment. Now I love it!

Attached to one of the stamps was part of a letter. We could only see a few words but we thought it was an appropriate signature for our work of art

Budget Ornaments

2011-01-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

This year I wanted to make ornaments to decorate my tree with. I don't have a ton of $$ lying around for decorations so I needed it to be basically free.

I got a typewriter this summer and I have been crafting non-stop with it. So of course I wanted to use my typewriter in the making of these ornaments. Side Note: Getting a typewriter was probably one of the best things I've ever done. It is so easy to use and makes any project, list, label, note, letter... x10 cuter!

I also had a large collection of old Christmas stamps laying around (more on that later) that I wanted to use.

To make the paper/stamp ornaments I typed tons of Christmas words onto brown paper bags (free), then cut them into segments and glued them, along with a few stamps, onto the ornaments ($1 at Big Lots).

For the fabric ornaments I just hot glued small pieces of fabric left over from my quilt onto small plastic ornaments ($3 at Walmart). The ruffly one is the same small plastic ornament and the same small fabric squares but, using a technique I learned in 1st grade, I wrapped the square around the end of a pencil and just hot glued the eraser end to the ornament so the middle of the fabric is glued and the ends of the fabric are standing on end.

The glass ornaments (also purchased at Big Lots for $1) were made by typing the same 3 words in a column, then making a fold under each word and taping the ends together to form a pyramid. I used a gold spray-paint pen to run around the edges to make it a little more festive.

By Christmas I only finished about 10 so I guess I'll work on them all year and they can be my decorations for next year.

Challah Bread

2010-12-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

I made this bread for the first time at Culinary School a few years ago and it has been one my favorite thing to make ever since. It is very beautiful and really easy to make.

Funny story, the first time I made this a fellow student and I tag-teamed it. The first try we thought we had done something wrong because it was taking so long to rise. We thought we used dead yeast so my friend tried to help the situation by kneading in more yeast about 45 min into the first rise. That obviously didn't work. The second try we got all the way to the braid but we thought we killed the yeast because we put it in too hot of a spot to raise (but really we didn't wait long enough for it to rise). We FINALLY succeeded the third time by just waiting patiently for the full time like the recipe says. Every time I make Challah I think of all those times we failed and I laugh. If at first you don't succeed try try again, especially in the case of Challah because the end product will be worth it!

Here is a little bit of history about Challah (HAL-la). It is a traditional bread originating from Jewish Sabbath and holiday celebrations. They eat 2 Challah loaves at each of the 3 Sabbath meals and during the holidays. It is to commemorate the manna that fell from heaven for the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. (If this is what manna tasted like I would have been one happy Israelite camper!)

This year I made some on Christmas Day for my family, while it was baking I decided to take a little nap...when I woke there was nothing but a crust left!

Here is the recipe:
Honey (3oz) 6 TB
Salt 1 1/2 tsp
Bread flour (14oz) 2-3 C
Yeast 1 TB
Water, hot (2oz) 4TB
Water, warm (5oz) 1/2 C
Eggs 2
Butter, melted (2oz) 4TB
Egg wash

1. Stir together the honey, salt and (4oz) 1/2 C flour in a mixer bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the hot water. Add the yeast mixture, the warm water, eggs and butter to the mixer bowl. Stir till smooth.

2. Using a dough hook, knead the dough on medium speed, adding the remaining flour a little at a time until smooth and elastic (5 min). Add more flour if the dough seems too sticky.

3. Let dough rise until doubled (45 min-1 hour)

4. Punch down the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long strip about one inch in diameter and about 12 inches long. Lay these strips side by side and pinch the tops together. At this point move onto a grease cookie sheet to continue braiding. Tuck both ends under themselves for a nice finish.

5. Let the loaf rise until doubled (45 min)

6. Brush with egg wash before putting it in the oven at 350 for 40 min. (convection ovens about 300 for 30 min)
Recipe from my culinary textbook "On Cooking".

Cooking, Crafts, and Plants...what more could you want?

2010-12-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

I am getting really excited about blogging after all the exposure my blog has gotten for the falling water gingerbread house I did this Christmas. I plan on taking my blog to a whole new level! (Mostly because I just quit my job and I will have a lot of free time on my hands.) I will post on a few of my favorite things which will include: "How to's" on cooking, crafts, and plants.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog by clicking on the "Follow" button in the sidebar to the right so that you are updated on all my new posts!

Look forward to some fun ideas on how to ring in the New Year!

A little more on the gingerbread house

2010-12-25T16:35:00.000-08:00

Royal Icing Recipe:
4 C powdered sugar
3 TB meringue powder
1/2-3/4 C warm water
*make sure to not leave uncovered too long*

"Water" Recipe:
2 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup
1 C water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TB butter or margarine
In a sauce pan combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking without stirring (mixture should be bubbling over the whole surface). Cook to hardball stage (265 degrees. An easy way to test this is get a cup of cold water and drop a little bit of the mixture into the water.) Remove from heat, stir in the butter and food coloring (we used a sky blue and tiny bit of green).
*For the "water" we cooked it a little past the hardball stage. Before starting line the area with tinfoil and while the candy is super hot pour it into the tinfoil lining.
For the "waterfall" let the candy cool till it is pliable then pull it like taffy and shape. Work fast because it cools very rapidly.

Here is the Original Fallingwater Gingerbread Post.
Want to see what became of the Falling Water Gingerbread House? Check it out.

Top 25 Favorite Songs

2010-12-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

I decided to share my top 25 favorite songs according to their play count on my iTunes. This was kind of interesting because if I were telling you my favorite songs they wouldn't necessarily be on this list or in this order but... the play count doesn't lie.
#1 River Waltz- Lang Lang (from the movie, The Painted Veil)
#2 Go On, Say It- Blind Pilot
#3 The Story I Heard- Blind Pilot
#4 One Red Thread- Blind Pilot
#5 Half Life- Imogen Heap
#6 I Buried a Bone- Blind Pilot
#7 Two Towns from Me- Blind Pilot
#8 Paint or Pollen- Blind Pilot
#9 Get It Out- Blind Pilot
#10 Things I Cannot Recall- Blind Pilot
#11 Oviedo- Blind Pilot
#12 Closer- Joshua Radin
#13 3 Rounds and a Sound- Blind Pilot
#14 Gonna Get Along Without You Now- She & Him
#15 Look At Miss Ohio- Blind Pilot
#16 Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want- She & Him
#17 Winter Song- Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
#18 Between Two Lungs-Florence And The Machine
#19 5 Years Time- Noah and the Whale
#20 Poor Boy- Blind Pilot
#21 Lonelily- Damien Rice
#22 The Calculation- Regina Spektor
#23 Until I Die- Ben Kweller
#24 Someone Else's Life- Joshua Radin
#25 The Bitter End- Blind Pilot

Basically what I got out of this list was that I really like Blind Pilot. That whole album is AMAZING. River Waltz is #1 because I put it on repeat when I'm trying to fall asleep.

My top 10 favorite song (that I would say) are:
(not necessarily in any order)
#1 Later On- Kate Nash
#2 The Cave- Mumford & Sons
#3 Winter Winds- Mumford & Sons
#4 Between Two Lungs- Florence And The Machine
#5 Bruises- Chairlift
#6 Something In the Water- Brooke Fraiser
#7 Quand je Marche- Bense
#8 Comme Des Enfants- Coeur de Pirate
#9 Pour un Infidele- Coeur de Pirate
#10 Nightingale- Laura Veirs and Saltbreakers

The Life of a Plant Waterer

2010-12-03T00:12:00.000-08:00

So as many of you know I water plants for my job. I love/hate it. One of the funny things that happens on a daily basis are the comments that people make to me. I thought I would share a few:
1. "WOW! I didnt realize that plant was real!!"
Response:
- Oh, its not this is just fake water.
Thinking:
- Are you kidding me!!!! I have walked past your desk and watered this exact same plant every week for the last 3 years!!!
2. "Want to come to my house next and take care of my plants"
Response:
-Awkward laugh...sure
Thinking:
-What?! creepy!
3. Then there is a whole category of comments referring to me pouring water people...on co-workers...computers... filling up their cups, mugs or water bottles...
Response:
-Again awkward laughter. I usually cant even come up with words to say back to them.
Thinking:
- If you only knew how much I really want to pour this on your head/computer/co-worker...
4. And then there are the concerned comments..."How is my plant this week?" or "It's looking a little sad this week." or "Is it dying?" or "I think it might need more water"
Response:
-Oh it looks just great. (forced smile) I'll do what I can and we'll see how it looks next week.
Thinking:
-Look, I really only know how to do one thing in this life really well and that is water plants. This plant has looked the same for 2 years, it looked the same last week and it will look the same next week. Why would you think it's terminal or dehydrated!?
5. People who ask me if I talk to/name the plants or tell me that they do.
Response:
- Awkward laugh...sure do. Now make sure you only say nice words to this plant or it may die.
Thinking:
-Yeah, I've named all the hundreds of plants I water and (out loud) make sure to personally greet them ever time, tell them how great they look, reassure them I'll take good care of them, then bid them a fond farewell. NOT!

For the most part I dont mind my job and it makes me laugh when people make comments about the plants. I think I'll have to do another post someday about the questions they have about their plants at home and how they try to describe them to me.

More Flowers

2010-12-03T00:06:00.001-08:00

I just love flowers. They make me happy. I loved the flowers in this wedding.

Fallingwater Gingerbread House

2010-11-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Model Statistics:
•It took over 12 hours to design
•It took Brenton and I around 40 hours to build and decorate
•There are around 164 different pieces of gingerbread
•It took roughly 12 square feet of gingerbread dough (that’s four large batches) to make all the walls, floors and roof
•Over 8 bags of powdered sugar were used to make all the frosting
•It took over 40 sleeves of large Smarties which are used to simulate dry stack stone on the building exterior
•The river and water fall are made up of three batches of hard candy

Best gingerbread house cookie:
2 C light corn syrup
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 1/4 C margarine
1 tsp salt
9 C flower

Melt together the corn syrup, brown sugar, and margarine. Mix till smooth then add in flour and salt.
Bake for 15 to 20 min at 350
*If the pieces get warped throw them in the microwave for 15 seconds and they will flatten out.

***Brenton and I have decided to make our Fallingwater Gingerbread House Plans available to PURCHASE!!

(This link will redirect you to Brenton's website.)

Here's a little more on our gingerbread house!
Check out what became of our Falling Water Gingerbread House!
Click HERE to see last years entry...#12 Grimmaulds Place

Podcasts

2010-11-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

So as many of you know I have one of the most boring jobs on the planet. I am a horticulture technician. In less glamorous words I water peoples' house plants. I drive around in my car all day and when I'm not in my car I'm wandering around businesses with my awesome tool belt and watering cans. Despite what "Music and Lyrics" portrays about plant waterers, I have never met anyone famous or helped write a hit song. In fact i dont really talk to anyone and no one really talks to me. You would think that day after day alone in my car or alone in an office full of people I would start going crazy or be really sad about my life....BUT not so!!! I have PODCASTS.
Josh and Chuck from "Stuff You Should Know" and Jad and Robert from "RadioLab" are always with me. They keep me company at all times. They entertain me for hours on end. They fill my head with random facts ranging from zombie attacks to sleep walking to love to organ donation. I always find myself saying," I was listening to a podcast about that just the other day..."
Up to this point I have listened to 57 RadioLab episodes totaling 1.6 days and 266 Stuff You Should Know episodes totaling 4.4 days. I have enjoyed every minute of it. It turned my hopelessly boring job into an outlet for me to listen to podcasts!