(Please disregard our cracked and dirty driveway.  Our driveway is huge.  I want a leaf blower.)

Now, granted it does actually enclose the garage to keep out animals and sunlight, but that’s sort of where the love ends for me.  This door is rotting.  If you stand IN the garage when the sun is out you can see the sunshine coming in through little cracks in the wood.  But it gets even better.

This garage door does not open on it’s own. Nope.  So we have to lug it open.  It’s frickin’ HEAVY.  And even better than that…  when it rains, it somehow sucks in all the moisture like a sponge and then it doesn’t stay open, so if you have to open it, you have to be able to get what you need out AND hold it open at the same time.  Neat.  It also, as you can see below, does not close flat, and the lock with which one would secure it shut to keep out robbers… doesn’t work.

Farewell, garage door. Today you will meet your demise.  You will be replaced with a lovely, white garage door that has these lovely transparent things called windows.  It will have a magical button I can push.  When I push the button, it will open and close at my command.  It will have a keypad.  It will be….marvelous.

I can’t WAIT to show you the after pics!  We are doing some special stuff this weekend so I will likely not post until Wednesday or so.  Hooray!

What I loved about this project, aside from the fact that I got to make this for someone I care about so much, was that I knew Jane would want something slightly different than my family rules.  I welcomed the challenge.  The one I made for our family is definitely my style- loud, colorful…a bit busy.  They fit me and my family to a ‘T.’  And with the color scheme in our kitchen, they work.  I love how they *pop* off the wall and people notice them when they come over for the first time.  Jane has different decor than we do (she has a smokin’ 80s kitchen while ours is still smack-dab in the swanky 70s) and has always liked certain colors.  I wanted to make her Family Rules “look like her,” and to go with her family and her home.  I think I did a good job.  She seems to like them, anyway.  I need to get over to her house and take a picture because all of these photos are in my home.

I’ve actually made another set to send to a church auction (post forthcoming) and have realized:  I LOVE making these things.  A lot.  So get ready for some giveaways and some fun because I think I may have found at least one path to my creative life- we’ll see!

Do you have a Jane in your life?  I do.  My Jane is rad.   (Hey, Jane- if you’re reading this, grab your tissues just in case.)

I met Jane in Texas in 1999.  She and I were teaching at the same school in Dallas.   At first we just sort of said hello to each other at meetings, nothing huge.  I was a new music teacher, and she was a new 5th grade teacher.

Young. Carefree.  Single.  (And perhaps a bit tipsy.)

One of my first memories of Jane is a blur.  I was on a horrible date.  Horrible.  Awkward.  Painfully long silences.  For some reason he asked me to go dancing at a country dancing bar place, and for some reason I said,”Uh…okay.”  We each had a drink and then he asked me to dance.  He could at least lead, which was nice.  He was two-stepping me around the dance floor (albeit, with totally sweaty palms), when all of a sudden I saw Jane’s blurry face, her big smile, go by my line of vision.  ”Hey!  You two know each other?!”  She had gone to high school with him.  Neat.  We stopped and talked to her for a few minutes and soon after, the date was over.  Funny how at the end of the evening, I thought to myself, “Well, that date wasn’t so great but at least I got to see Jane.”

I taught music to her class, and one day, at the end of that first school year teaching together, she brought her class up to my door and said, “I hear you’re looking for a roommate.”  The rest, as they say, is history.  We moved into a new building that used to be where the first Dr. Pepper bottling plant was in Dallas.   We had a few mutual agreements.  She wouldn’t hang her Aggie (Texas A&M) stuff in the main area, and I wouldn’t hang my SMU stuff, either.  Done.  Living with Jane was as easy as it was fun.  We had just the right balance of fun together and space apart.  I learned to leave her alone if she fell asleep on the couch (grumpy), and she learned that I do my dishes (eventually).

Me, Jane, and Kelley

A few months after moving in, Jane’s cousin, Kelley, called her up.  A few minutes into the conversation, Jane asked me if I’d want to move to San Diego with her and Kelley.  ”When?”  ”This summer.”  ……..”Okay.”  Leave the hot Texas summer for the breeze of the beach?  Done.  We embarked on an adventure that continues today, because…. we’re still here.  And we have *almost* seven kids between us (did I mention Jane is due any day with baby #4?  Yeah- she’s amazing.).  We’ve both gotten married, had kids, moved to different parts of town, but our roots are now here in San Diego.

What I value most in my friendship with Jane is that she teaches me without even realizing it.  Just by knowing Jane I have learned, for example:

• How to share (you don’t get Jane all to yourself- she’s too awesome.  She also doesn’t know a stranger.  So when you’re friends with her, you automatically gain oodles of other wonderful friends.)
• How to parent (Jane is an encyclopedia of motherly knowledge.  Since she had her first son, Luke, before I started my family, I get to watch how she does things and see what works for her.  Then I copy what works because she doesn’t mind.)
• How to love (Jane is a hugger. Not a fake hugger, but a real hugger.)
• How to stand up for what you believe in (Jane does not compromise her beliefs.  Love that.)

and of course…

• How to party (though we don’t do that nearly as much as we used to now that we have so many kids to take care of…dang it!)

If I went up to Jane and told her, prior to posting this piece, that I was going to write a blog post about how much I love her, and how wonderful I think she is, and how much her friendship means to me, she would a) turn bright red, b) tell me it’s not necessary, she doesn’t do anything that special, and c) immediately change the subject.  Jane is a person who focuses on others.  She does not like to be the focus of attention in any way.  Too bad, my sweet Janie.  I’ve just written a whole blog post about you and me, and how great you are.  I have loved being friends with you for so long. You are one of my longest held friends, and I am so blessed to have you in my life.  I’m so happy that we are both “stuck” in San Diego together.

I made something for Jane.  I’ll show it to you tomorrow.  :)

Patience is a virtue.  I, however, am not a patient person in all areas of my life.  But I will wait.  And soon I can completely let go of my past teaching life and move on into a more creative one (I hope).   I never, ever thought I’d be anything but a teacher, but here I am on the cusp of something else, and I have no idea what it is exactly, but it’s exciting.

I’ve spent most of my post-children-sleeping evening preparing documents and getting things prepared, and it’s amazing how much diving back into my world of teaching automatically sends my stress level to an old, familiar place.  It’s not something I enjoy.

I’m hoping that I can get caught up this week- the weekend ended so quickly that I haven’t had a chance to get grounded yet.  I have some great posts coming your way, though, including more Mod Podge and more food.  Yum.  I love food.

She can tell when I’m on a kick.  Lately I’m on a “make my own stuff” kick, as you may have read in my post about making my own laundry detergent.  Soon after that post, Stephanie texted me that she had tried making her own coffee creamer and it tasted pretty good.  She shared this link with me.   I immediately gravitate to all things chocolate, of course, so I decided to give the mocha recipe a try.   I also happened to have dry milk in my pantry (bread making) and hadn’t used it yet.  I had all of the ingredients (only three!) so I made it up.  I have to say…. I like it!

A lot of whether or not you might enjoy this creamer is, I think, going to be based on how much you need the cream experience in your coffee.  While it doesn’t give me that, “MmmmmMMMMMMMM!” experience that some of my favorite flavors of creamer give me, it still does the job of making my coffee taste less… like coffee.  And the cocoa is very nice- at the end it’s almost like having a cup of hot chocolate- nice!  What I like most is that it’s not made with high fructose corn syrup, it’s only three ingredients, and those ingredients are simple.  Sugar?  Yup.  Sugar is not going to kill me if I put just a few (okay, three) spoonfuls in my coffee.

If you like the experience of watching your creamer take over your coffee and change it from a dark, black mass of caffeinated sludge to a caramel-colored, smooth warm drink… this is not going to do it for you.  As shown above, your coffee will not look that much lighter.  But it does make your coffee taste… less like coffee and more like creamer.  There are other flavors listed on the link, but here’s the recipe I used:

Mocha Coffee Creamer

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups nonfat dry milk
• 4 teaspoons cocoa

Of course, I did add a bit of this and that helped with the creaminess.  Nom-nom.

Stephanie tried the orange flavor.  She said that she used Splenda and it was very sweet, but she still liked it.

Thanks, Steph!  And thanks, “desertgal”, whomever and wherever you are!

I chose teal, but I made a bunch so that I can change it up as the year goes on.  No one likes to have only one option, right?  I’m glad that I’ll have this in my entry way- I’ll pass it hundreds of times a day, so it will remind me to stay positive and be happy, dammit.

So friends, I give you an 8×10 “Keep it Happy” print.  Have fun.  Let me know what color you pick, or if you have another color you’d like to suggest, I would be more than happy to add more.  You should be able to click on the print of your choice and save it to your hard drive, but let me know if you have problems.  Happy day!

I let her wear them to school.  Dumb, I know.  But she loved them so much and wanted to show her friends- I remember that feeling.  So I said “yes.”  And then she skipped out to me when I picked her up, and this is what her shoes looked like:

 Whoops.

One of her teachers tried to make me feel better.  ”They don’t look that bad….”  Uh, yeah.  I’m what they call “type A” when it comes to how my kids look.  I don’t need them to be dressed in expensive clothes, per se, but there are some things that I can’t take, and one is messed up shoes.

So, of course, I got out the Mod Podge, the red glitter, and went to town on those puppies.  Silly, I know.  But they turned out great.  Better than the alternative.

I finished them off with a spray of clear acrylic sealer.  They have held up great.  She also has not worn them to school since then…  at least I learned that lesson…  And now Emily can wear them in 4 years- that’ll save me $5.  :)

If you’re new to Crafting Crazy you should know that I’m currently a breastfeeding mommy.  Emily is currently 6 months old, and she has now earned the title “longest breastfed baby” of my 3.  It’s going really well and I love it, but teeth are on the horizon.  Teeth change everything for me in the world of breastfeeding, but that’s an entirely different post.  Back to why I miss my salad.

This is my salad:

Doesn’t it look AMAZING?  It is.  It’s sooooo delicious!  It’s my go-to salad.  My, “I think I’ll have an adult lunch today” salad.  My, “DAMN.  This is good!” salad.

Why do I miss it?  I can’t eat it right now. Why?  Because every time I do, it makes this little miss….

very unhappy in the tummy department.  And we’re not talking just a few toots and hollers, folks- she screams in pain every time I eat it.  Boo.  I haven’t had it for at least 2 months, and I think I will have to wait to have it again for a while- maybe once she’s on more solids we’ll try.  The sacrifices we make as mothers….

What’s in it?   Well, like most salads, it’s a bit different every time, but I’ll give you the basics and then you can add your own spin.

I use baby spinach as the base.  I LOVE spinach.  It’s my favorite leafy green.  In the photos on this post I think we were getting rid of some other salad mix so it’s romaine that you see up there, but spinach is my fave.

Add to that:

• chopped apple (I’m a big fan of the Fuji these days)
• roasted almonds (or unroasted if that’s how you roll), or toasted pine nuts if you want to get fancy
• cranberries
• grape tomatoes (I like them better than cherry- they are sweeter and smaller- no slicing)
• avocado
• shredded carrot or baby carrots
• crumbled coat cheese (my husband likes crumbled blue cheese- bleh)
• cooked chicken or other meat if you need some protein in there- you could even add tofu

And then, there’s the piece de resistance:  my honey-dijon-balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below).

I put the salad in the bowl, I sprinkle everything else on in the quantity that I want (I probably put on wayyyy to much goat cheese because….well, it’s goat cheese), and then drizzle on the dressing.  This salad does not mix well in a big bowl- the toppings are too heavy and they all sink to the bottom.  So, if you make this for a dinner party or something (it’s always a big hit) I usually do a “make your own” and let people build their own salad.  It looks prettier and everyone gets what they want.

The dressing:

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (I use Trader Joe’s)
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• *bloob of honey

Combine all of the ingredients and whisk until combined.  If it sits for a while before you use it you’ll need to whisk it up again.

*What’s a bloob ?  Depends on how much sweetness you want.  I usually hold the honey over the measuring cup and squeeze while I count to 5.  Then I taste and add some more.  I could say “honey to taste” but I think bloob sounds more fun.  Almost like boob, but not.

Let me know if you make this- it’s awesome!  And one more shot:

Today we were running late (or so I thought- in the end we were fine).  We had to stop for gas.  When we got to the gas station, the card reader was broken so I had to go…. into the actual STATION to pay for our gas.  I don’t think I’ve done that for at least 10 years.  It was weird.  I remember when we could start paying at the pump- it was soooo revolutionary.  But I digress.  I got back to the car and my daughter, Anna, was a sniveling mess.  She thought I was leaving them when she saw me go into the station.  Neat.

I walked around to the other side of the van to give her a wipe so she could clean up her face, and as I leaned into the car I toooootally biffed my head on the roof.  It felt… GREAT.  Instant headache.  I hit my head so hard that my son, Jack, said, “Oh, Mommy, you okay?”  at least four times in a row, like this: “Mommyyouokaymommyyouokaymommyyouokaymommyyouokay?????”  So sweet.  That boy is so adorable.

I’m starting my new job in the next week or so.  The best part?  It’s all on the computer, for the most part.  Rad.  More to come about that.

Next week I’m going to be participating in the SITS Girls Blog Challenge, also known as 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.  I’m hoping it won’t take over my posting too much- just some here and there.  But keep your eyes peeled- you may see some subtle changes around here.  {I nearly wrote “suttle” instead of “subtle.” Ha!}

My goals for my blog this year include

• building my reader numbers and
• figuring out how to use this here blog as a medium to achieve a creative life for myself.

We’ll see if that happens.  If you’re a blogger you should check it out- it’s a great way to find new blog friends and encourage each other.

Sorry for the lack of photos- sometimes you just need to write, eh?  Happy weekend to you!

Once we got the piano, this whole room seemed to come together in terms of furniture arrangement.  Our poster of Louis seems so much more appropriate now with something musical underneath him.  Before he was just hangin’ out, smokin’ a cig.  Now he has some company.

My parents gave this piece of art to me years ago- I think they got it in New Orleans.  We finally got it framed and it now hangs next to Louis.  I love it because it combines my two instruments, flute and piano, into one piece.  Rad.

Why the electric?  We have kids.  Who sleep.  The only time I can possibly play for my own enjoyment is when they are asleep.  With an electric piano I can plug in the headphones and play to my heart’s content.

I am also loving our lamp.  I recovered it after being inspired by this pin.  As much as I would love to buy one as I saw it, I couldn’t justify it when I had all the materials to make one myself.  Music paper, hot glue annnnnd…. done!

Now if I can just get my confidence and my super-speedy fingers back….