make happy

renovations

2012-01-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

I think the blog makeover is complete! A new look, larger images, some new links and pages at the top (that's the “home—about—photography—food—crafts—house&home—q&a”), and links to my most popular posts on the right side (scroll down a little and you'll see them). Hopefully these new additions will help people popping over from Pinterest and other new visitors to look around and make themselves at home. :)

Thank you to all of you for reading MakeHappy over the years. And thank you for all your wonderful comments—they really keep me motivated!

Have a great week!
Marisa

29/366 a different kind of floral macro

2012-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

A little tongue-in-cheek, perhaps, but this was the only thing that inspired me this morning. :)

28/366 bowling

2012-01-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

We took the kids bowling today. Little Mister entertained us all with his post-ball-release celebrations. :)

(Edited to link to IHF's Silly Challenge)

27/366 quiet

2012-01-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

felt heart bookmarks

2012-01-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned on the MakeHappy Facebook page, the kids and I tried some hand-sewing on one of our snowed-in days last week. We made felt heart bookmars, inspired by this post. We think they are really cute, and the kids had fun sewing them. I was nervous giving my little guy a needle and thread, but he did a wonderful job and was so patient while I helped his sister. His is the blue, hers is the red. She went all out and added her teacher's name in beads. (I don't think her teacher knows about this blog, so hopefully her Valentine gift will remain a surprise!)

My only issue with these is that I don't love the way the paper clip wrinkles the pages when used as bookmarks. I like to keep my books pristine. Do you have any suggestions for something else?

Criteria:

1) Sturdy, not paper

2) Can be sewn/attached inside the felt heart sandwich

3) Doesn't wrinkle pages when used as bookmark

26/366 skate night

2012-01-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

My daughter's elementary school hosts Skate Night every Thursday from November to March. It's a great way to get the kids moving when the weather is less than friendly. Little Mister is really getting it this year!

And this book? Cannot stop reading. I think it will take me two days, start to finish. So captivating. Heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Have you read it? (Don't tell me anything about the last half!)

25/366 cereal

2012-01-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

And an extra, because when there's snow covering the ground and the sun is shining, my dungeon-like bathroom glows with light. Well, at least in the shower, where the window resides.

24/366 macro snow

2012-01-24T10:57:00.001-08:00

the sweeping square

2012-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

I found this idea on Pinterest and put it right to work on one of our snowed-in days last week. Make sweeping a game by having kids sweep into a taped square?? Excellent! Little Mister was bored and couldn't think of anything to do.

“I have a game for you!” I said excitedly.

He caught on pretty quick that my “game” was really work in disguise. He's a smart cookie. But he still accomplished the task and was rewarded. (With hugs? A piece of candy? iPod time? I don't remember.)

This morning when I tracked down the original post for due credit here, I discovered that this technique was used for a homeschooling lesson for motor control. Denise from Explorations in Learning intentionally put beans on the floor and had her daughter sweep them into the square. She's a much nicer mom than I am. Even if I was making it a gross motor lesson, I'd still have him sweep crumbs from under the table.

Because they're always there and they always need to be swept.

And helping out around the house is a good lesson. Right? Right?

These are my daily justifications.

23/366 crystalline

2012-01-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

cold brewed desperation coffee

2012-01-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Desperate times call for desperate measures. When the power was still out Saturday morning, I started wondering what I would do without coffee. I can make it, I thought. But I was cranky. My head hurt. I tried to think of something I could do to take the edge off, and the chocolate in a batch of zucchini brownies I made wasn't working. Darn caffeine addiction.

I thought of Pioneer Woman's cold brewed coffee, but a) I didn't have eight hours to brew it and b) I didn't have internet to look up her method. So I winged it.

I put approximately two tablespoons of ground coffee into a glass and poured in a cup or so of cold water. I stirred like crazy and let it sit for about an hour. After the hour was up, I strained it into another glass with some cheesecloth to catch the grounds.

It made thick, dark brown sludge. Mmmm.

I like my coffee strong and dark, but even I didn't want to drink that. I added some milk to make it tolerable. Some flavored syrup, Bailey's or Kahlua would have been nice.

It was still a bit gritty, like the last cup from a French press. But beggars can't be choosers. It was just what I needed and I was a much nicer mama. Best of all, I proved I can rough it, Little House on the Prairie style.

I'm so thankful today for my steaming hot, non-gritty coffee.

Happy Monday!

22/366 mailbox valentines

2012-01-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today was hopefully our last day trapped in the house. We weren't really trapped today, but freezing rain prevented us from attending my nephew's first birthday party in Gresham. Boo.

Sweetpea and I figured we'd get a head start on her class valentines, since we had time. We ended up finishing them! It took us about two hours to put together 30 of these mailbox valentines. I've never had valentines done this early. It feels so strange. Good, but strange.

I found the idea on Pinterest, and tracked it back to Gigi's Creative Designs blog. She has the materials list on her Valentine Mail Box post, and the dimensions for the card stock strips. So head over there for the details.

She did not, however, have clear assembly directions. So I played around the with strips and photographed they way we assembled them.

Note: Sweetpea is seven, but she needed quite a bit of help with assembly. The strips need to be pulled tightly around the Hershey Nuggets for a secure hold.

If I were concerned with these looking perfect, I would have used hidden double sided tape. But since they're for a class of second graders, the paper mailbox will probably be ripped apart immediately to access the candy. So we went the easy—and less expensive—route and used regular transparent tape.

Aren't they adorable? Oh, and since Hershey Nuggets are processed in a facility that also processes tree nuts, we used Starburst (three, stacked, then turned on their sides) for the kids in the class with nut allergies. Happy almost Valentine's Day!

21/366 three second shutter

2012-01-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

The power was out for about 20 hours this time. It went out about 9:30 last night, after which I got supremely bored and began taking some long exposure shots out my living room window. Hubs laughed at me when I got excited about a car driving down the street, but I knew exactly what would happen. I would get a super awesome shot with those headlights streaking through. I love how the light reflects off the icicles.

We woke up this morning to a chilly house, and a visible sheet of ice outside. Hubs chipped the ice away in a shady spot and we moved food from the almost-warm fridge to little snow caves. The temperature warmed, the sun came out, and the ice started melting. By afternoon, the layer of ice was gone, so we went out to the grocery store. By the time we came back, we had electricity. Hooray for around-the-clock PUD techs!

20/366 ice ice baby

2012-01-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

Fun fact: I still know all the words to that song. I sing it to myself all the time. But I won't sing it for you, no matter how much you beg, because I only sing out loud for my children or in the car. Sorry.

Word to your mother.

Check out the hummingbird!

It was a very icy day today. We had an inch of ice pellets yesterday and freezing rain all day today. School was closed due to weather for the fourth day in a row. Trees and branches are still falling, major roads, highways and a freeway are closed. A hundred-mile stretch of I-84 was closed today. It's nasty out there.

But tomorrow, the temperature is supposed to reach 42°F, so the roads should thaw and I can join the rest of the Columbia Gorge at the grocery store for some much needed milk and eggs. Fingers crossed!

We've still got 10-12 inches of snow on the ground, but it's covered with a thick layer of ice, so you pretty much walk on top of it—or slide on top of it—until you find a weak spot and crunch through. Hubs took the kids for a short, fast sled ride today, and they were so excited to see the city grader plowing the road.

You see, in a small town like ours, everyone gets involved. We have two plows, but when plowing is needed on all roads, they bring out the grader, the skid steer, and anything else that has a blade to scrape the streets clean. I ♥ small towns.

My friend Hummingbird did not shy away from me at all today. He let me take several frames. He even looked straight at me for a second, but I was so stunned that the image was blurry. Too bad.

Have a good weekend everyone!

If you're local, I'll probably see you at the grocery store tomorrow. :)

19/366 ice

2012-01-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

Last night was quite humbling. Our winter wonderland has turned into an icy nightmare. Trees and power lines are falling all over the region; cars are sliding off roads. My husband had his scanner on for a while, and some of the calls we heard were heartbreaking. A million thanks to the tireless emergency responders of the Columbia River Gorge.

We lost power for about four hours last night. That's why this post is late. No internet, no heat. Thankfully we spent most of the time snuggled in our beds. When the power did come back on at 1am, I walked around the house turning off lights that had been left on. It was c-c-c-cold in the house. I'm so thankful we have heat to keep us warm. I know there are some families that have to endure this winter weather without heat for much longer than four hours.

My camera showed up on our doorstep during dinner last night. I used it for the photo above. I haven't tested it in daylight yet, but my tests last night showed it 97% fixed. I can work with that—there's no way I'm sending it back again just yet! The rest of the photos were taken with the P&S, to document the ice around our home and our fourth day with no school this week.

18/366 that's what i'm talking about

2012-01-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Finally, here is the snow I've been begging for! We had 16 measurable inches today, but there was lots of melting/compacting/continuous snowing. I don't know what the total snowfall was yet. We were out for hours this morning. Hubs built the kids a snow cave. I attempted a snowman doing a headstand, but I made the top snow ball too big and it collapsed. We went in for lunch and then it started raining. It will be mostly slush tomorrow, but I'm completely satisfied.

Check out the hummingbird feeder!

I cleared it off for the little guys.

The catch-22? My camera was due to be delivered today, but the UPS truck didn't make it because of adverse weather conditions. I'm crossing my fingers it will be here tomorrow.

homemade raw cashew butter

2012-01-17T23:15:00.000-08:00

Are you a nut butter fan? What's your favorite? I used to think I was just a peanut butter girl. Love peanut butter. But not the healthy, natural kind. I've always eaten Jif. I've tried the natural nut butters and they were 1) too dry, 2) too cold, because they have to be refrigerated, 3) not sweet/salty/smooth enough.

But I came across this recipe for homemade nut butters from Heather Eats Almond Butter on Pinterest, and I happened to have a huge bag of raw cashews in the fridge, so I gave it a whirl. Literally, a whirl in the food processor. A looooong whirl. It took forever to get the cashew powder to turn “creamy” in the food processor. How does that work, exactly? Are the natural oils of the nut released when it is obliterated enough? I probably could have processed it longer to make it creamier, but I was getting impatient and was afraid my food processor motor would overheat.

It was worth it, though. I do believe this was the best nut butter ever. It tasted like every other natural nut butter I've had, but for some reason I just loved it. Maybe it was because I made it myself and I knew it only had one ingredient? Just cashews. Gotta love that.

I had some Jif today, and I tell ya, it wasn't setting off any fireworks for me. I may just be a natural nut butter convert.

But if I want to start making nut butters at home regularly, I'm going to need an industrial food processor. It takes a lot of power.

Have you ever made your own nut butter? How did it go for you?

17/366 provisions

2012-01-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

iPod

We've got about an inch of snow and it's raining right now, but the forecast still says we can expect 6-17 inches of snow between now and Wednesday evening. We trekked to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials in case we're snowed in tomorrow.

When we came home, the kids played in the backyard. Every time it snows, Sweetpea wants to build a snowman. But you know how it goes—she starts out helping and gets tired after five minutes so I end up doing it all. Today, though, she built her own little snow person all by herself! I was so proud of her. (The photo is a little blurry because I had the iPod covered with a plastic bag to keep it dry.) Right after this was taken, she tried to put on some rock buttons and the whole thing fell over. She cried. Poor kiddo.

Rest easy, little snowperson. We'll try again tomorrow.

16/366 history

2012-01-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

As I posted on the MakeHappy Facebook page last night, I gave the kids a small lesson today in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At ages 4 and 7, I didn't have high expectations, but wanted to get the ideas of unity and equality across.

Sweetpea surprised me. She knew quite a bit about Dr. King. Kudos to her teachers at school! Little Mister knew nothing, and was pretty resistant to my lesson. For him, I kept it simple. I gave a little background on the mistreatment of people who looked different and discussed why that is wrong. We watched a short clip of Dr. King's “I Have a Dream” speech, so they could see who we were talking about and hear his powerful voice. (I also used this transcript.) We talked about how he encouraged others to stand up peacefully with him for what they believed and how, together, they helped to change our country for the better.

Then we did a little craft to, hopefully, cement the lesson. I made up a little printable of people holding hands (thank you, Photoshop auto shapes). I dramatically poured out all our crayons on the table and had them sort through to find all the colors that could be used for skin.

Little Mister chose red. I was confused, and asked him why he chose that color.

“Because cheeks get red when we're warm and when we exercise.”

Good point! We gave all his people red cheeks. He was very resistant to the coloring, as it's not his favorite activity, but he offered to add green and yellow Oregon Ducks gear after I filled in the skin colors. Funny kid. Go Ducks!

As for my girl, well, she never ceases to amaze me. She has such a big heart. I love what she came up with for her people.

We usually do a small service project on this school holiday, and had planned to walk our route from home to school with a garbage bag and latex gloves, gathering littered wrappers to improve our community. But with a layer of snow on the ground, that would be difficult, so we're postponing it for the next dry day after the thaw.

Do you do anything to celebrate Dr. King? I'd love to hear about other kid-appropriate projects.

If you're interested, I made our printable into a pdf to share.

Just click the link below the image.


Download MakeHappy's People Holding Hands PDF

(If you're having trouble opening it, you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. It's free.)

15/366 snow

2012-01-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

Canon S5iS

Yes, yes. That's much better.

It's snowing big, fat flakes right now.

My favorite kind!

I love searching through the depth of the falling snow,

stacked planes of fluffy snow clumps.

What a wonderful day.

14/366 manual focus

2012-01-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

My fun find on the P&S for the day? Manual focus. Isn't that funny? A little button you hold, then tab up and down to change focus. It's not very precise, but it's something new for me.

Here's one in focus, in case the fuzzy one bothered you.

The kids and I went out and played in the yard today. The sun was fading fast, and there is snow/rain in the forecast for the next two weeks. I'm really really hoping for some snow. We're overdue! So enjoy the forsythia buds and the dried hydrangeas that should have been cut months ago, because tomorrow, I will have snow pictures.

13/366 naptime

2012-01-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

Canon S5iS

A double dose of vaccines for the little guy led to an unexpected two hour naptime. He's all ready for kindergarten and I got a nice recharge.

I also took advantage of some sunlight to photograph my new String of Pearls. I've been wanting one of these plants for years, but they're not easy to find. I found it at our local florist/gift shop a month ago and was so thrilled. It's got new growth all over it, so it must like its new home. I can't wait to reshoot when my camera returns. (It's been evaluated, now in the shop. . . next step, shipping home!)

12/366 latte love

2012-01-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Coffee relaxes me. I know, that's not the point of it. But the process of grinding my beans, heating my milk, prepping and packing my filter, letting just the right amount of water through the grounds takes me away from my often chaotic environment. On a good day, I have time to sit and leisurely sip my latte, extending my escape without actually going anywhere. I love the good days.

11/366 s'more cupcakes

2012-01-11T22:26:00.000-08:00

Struggled with the Canon S5iS today. I had less than optimal light for this camera.

But Nikon is currently replacing “major parts” on my camera, so hopefully I'll have a better-than-new machine soon.

Sweetpea found a recipe for S'Mores Cupcakes in October, and it's been hanging on our fridge waiting for the Halloween candy to be gone, the Thanksgiving desserts to be gone, and then the Christmas/New Year's goodies to be finished. We decided to jump on it this week before the Valentine treats show up. She did almost everything herself, and she was so proud to do so.

She was so excited to do the frosting and decorating herself. I was so busy studying the light and angles and trying to make the camera cooperate, I didn't realize until it was too late that she only used half the frosting. She covered all the cupcakes, but could have used twice the frosting on each one. Oh well. It's not like we need the extra sugar.

I know, I know. You're waiting for the recipe, right? Sorry, I'm not going to give it to you. The chocolate cupcakes were not so great. The kids loved them, but I'm a little pickier about my chocolate cake. I find that a lot of recipes geared toward kids—usually found in kids' magazines, quirky chapter books, and character merchandise—are so very basic and overly sweet that they don't meet my expectations.

But I don't want to disappoint. I will give you the simple marshmallow frosting recipe. I did a little searching on the internet and found three takes on marshmallow frosting:

1) butter cream + marshmallow creme, like we used today

2) fancy whipped egg white style, and

3) sticking a marshmallow on top of a baked cupcake and baking for a few minutes to let it melt.

That last one seems a little strange to me. Wouldn't the cupcake overcook and dry out?

The egg white option sounds great, but not very kid-friendly. If I feel like making another attempt at s'more cupcakes, I'll use this recipe.

Here's what we did today:

Marshmallow Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tsp vanilla

14oz marshmallow creme

Beat butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat until well combined. (It won't necessarily be smooth and frosting-like yet.) Add marshmallow creme and beat until thoroughly combined, smooth and creamy.

Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes. This frosting will harden a little as it stands, so it's best to make it just before you're ready to frost the cupcakes.

* * * * *

So, make a batch of chocolate cupcakes. Cool completely. Frost with marshmallow frosting and top with mini chocolate chips and graham cracker chunks. Pretty easy, and the kids will love it.

10/366 my little guy

2012-01-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Today was a busy day. I was home for two whole hours between 8am and 7pm. That's probably normal, or more than normal, for a lot of you, but for this “stay at home” mom, it was definitely not normal. Selfishly, it would have been nice to pop in a movie for the little dude and browse blogs/answer emails/stalk Facebook/relax for those two home hours. But I did not. I made a cup of coffee and cheered for him while he played an online LEGO car chase game. We read two books together. He allowed me into his world of talking trains and gave me a tour of the track he built. We snuggled on the couch and talked about what life was like when he was a baby.

I need to neglect my computer more often.

All images today with the Canon S5iS.

The train/track/roundhouse photos were not edited, other than to add the watermark.

With the right light, this P&S is a sharp little camera!

(The train blur was done intentionally.) :)

I'm quite impressed, considering it is about four years old and only 4 megapixels.