Thankful Thursday---A Guest Post

Today is a special day gang!  I get to share with you a guest post from Heather of Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.  Heather's story is an inspiring story of victory over a deadly cancer and her renewed lust for life.  In the daily grind we get so caught up in our mundane problems we forget that there are real people out there with much larger life threatening problems.  So today I encourage you to remember that this too shall pass and to say a prayer for someone who may not be as fortunate as you.  Without further ado, I give you Heather's inspiring story.

Love, Courage and Knowledge:  My Journey with Mesothelioma

 

(Heather with her beautiful family)

On November 21, 2005, I was diagnosed with a deadly cancer known as malignant pleural mesothelioma.  I was suddenly swept into a vortex of anxiety, despair and confusion.  At the time of my diagnosis, my one and only baby was 3-1/2 months old.  My love for Lily fortified my determination to not only face this cancer, but overcome it as well.   

My hope came in the form of one of the world’s leading mesothelioma doctors, Dr. David Sugarbaker at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s hospital.  His knowledge and care gave me hope in the face of grim statistics.  This hope fueled my strength and determination to overcome this cancer.  Over the next year, I used every ounce of strength I had to fight tremendous odds.

First, I had major surgery to remove my left lung along with the pleural lining where the tumor was growing.  Then, chemotherapy and radiation followed for the next few months.  All this took place in Boston – 1,900 miles away from my six-month old daughter.  

Devoted family and friends helped me along the way.  While I was in Boston for surgery, my parents took care of Lily.  During the months I spent sick from the chemotherapy and radiation, support of friends and family kept Lily none the wiser.

When it was time to celebrate Lily’s first year of life, friends and family celebrated not only her birthday, but my new life as well.  Just one month shy of the first anniversary of my diagnosis, I finished my last radiation treatment vowing to remain cancer free. That year of battling cancer and the subsequent years since then have taught me many things.  

I delight in small things like Lily’s laughter, puppy breath or a rainbow after a rain shower.  All of these are small reminders that life is here to be lived.  Even during days when things aren’t the best they could be, I find something to be grateful for, and I think of the amazing people I met along my journey ‒ people whose names are carved on my heart forever.

Mesothelioma cancer is more than just a daytime television commercial.  Real people have fought and lost this battle.  Real people take care of loved ones day after painful day.  Real people continue to fight with the tenacity and passion of fierce warriors.  

In their battle, they inspire others.  It is for these heroes that I want to raise awareness for mesothelioma.  

Change A Comin'

I think Im done for a while...making blog changes that is.  Last week was a whirl wind of work, and all in a good way!  I made a button for the blog, connection buttons for facebook, pinterest, and RRS feed, made a new layout (ok that actually came from The Cutest Blog on the Block, link at the top of the blog) and created tabs for the top of the blog.  And guess what...all the tabs now are working and no longer under construction!! Yay!!  Under the recipe tab I have all the Foodie Friday entries and I categorized them as I thought best.  If you want to see pictures under each link let me know and I will go back and add them, otherwise I think Im just going to leave that alone.  Also updated is the projects tab...that one took a long time because apparently over the past 6 months I have done a ton of projects...who knew!  Under the projects tab, same as the recipes, is a link to all the projects I have done and categorized as I thought best.  Again if you want to see pictures let me know and I will go back and add them.  In the interest of time I didnt add pictures but if the people want it, it will come!

Dont judge me on the weeds that surround the patio furniture I hate pulling weeds and these are crazy fast growing and even faster coming back weeds!  Demon weeds...one day we will triumph over you!  Oreo loves sitting on the stone because it stays cool when its hot outside, I think I woke him up from his doggie nap but he is a good sport and sits still for me, such a good dog.

In other news...it seems my tomato plant has taken over the herb garden so we are going to have to transplant it to another flower pot.  Hopefully it will last because it is doing so well right now.  I hate to move it but I think its sucking all the water and nutrients from the herbs and I cant have that...play nice tomato plant!  We are definitely learning as we go on this whole herb garden thing.

Project Housewife Out!

Where's the Fire?!

As promised yesterday I have some pictures to share with you on the sign project we are working on.  First up...the awesome tree branch we found to use as the post.

It doesnt look like much here but it has great character that will help with the "vintage" feel of the sign.  In the background you can see the first branch we picked, but I didnt love it so thanks to Mom for having dead trees on the property that we can use as projects.  For those of you playing along at home...so far the total cost for this project is $0.

Now on to the signs themselves.  Joe did a great job making fancy arrows, I told him he didnt have to for all of them so here is the mix of what he made for me.

Pretty cool right?!  Most of these stakes came from this pallet...we love using pallets because hello they are free!  Add that $0 to the current $0 and we are at a running total of $0...not too shabby right.  And we still have wood left on that pallet so who wants to suggest another pallet project?!

A close up on the arrows for you, I found all the fonts online at free font websites.  I thought it added more character to the arrows having different fonts that reminded me of the place they were taking you to.  I have about 5 different Harry Potter fonts right now, but you know I had to use the classic HP for Diagon Alley!

Like I mentioned yesterday, we were going to try and burn an arrow rather than paint them.  Adventurland was my tester (and yes I know adventureland is one word, however my husband apparently does not).  Here is the stake with the outline of the words drawn.  Joe went over that with his soldering gun, its pretty cool and has about 100 different attachments you can use on it, one of which was a little tiny saw that was great for carving out the wood.

After he did that, he poured gas on it and set it on fire...it didnt turn out so bad, but not really usable so we were back at square one.

Joe decided to get a heavy duty wood burning soldering gun, which is great for large projects but not so great for the detail work.  So thats where the wood burning capability on the smaller soldering gun came in handy.  One thing to note, our soldering gun is powered by butane which is great, but once the gun hits the wood it cools almost instantly.  For this particular project it would have been better if it was an electric soldering gun then the gun would have stayed hot the whole time.

Thats where we are on the sign project, making the rest of the arrows is just going to take some time since all the details I put in are a little intricate but hopefully we will get to put the sign in the ground this weekend!  More to come as it comes :)

Project Housewife Out!

Which Way to Narnia?

Happy Monday Everyone!  Good News!  We started working on one of the projects from the list...remember this list...

• Build a platform for the media room
• Create a fun/quirky outdoor sign
• Hang measuring cups from cabinet door
• Paint master bedroom
• Re-do upholstery on headboard
• Decals for the media room

Well we are working on building an outdoor sign!  This sign idea actually came from Pinterest and  I have to say when I found this sign it was when I first started using Pinterest and didnt know any better than to find the original source.  So I am going to show you the pin...but its from Tumblr so I have no idea where the original picture came from.

 (pin source)

I loved it because its a sign to all the crazy places I wish were real.  I knew this belonged in my yard from the moment I saw it and has been sitting on my Backyard board for a long time now.  I kept putting it off because I didnt want to buy wood and because I had other projects I wanted to work on.

Well let me tell you...living in a neighborhood that is under construction does have its upsides.  One being all the lumber the workers put in the trash pile but is still perfectly good wood, they just cant use it for the home they are building.  We scooped up 6 unfinished 2x4's (well not exactly all that size but I didnt measure them so its a guess) for our platform project, a ream of carpet remnant that matches our current carpet (also for the platform) and are waiting to find a sheet of plywood.  For this sign I though we needed more beat up looking wood though so we turned again to pallet wood.  I still had a pallet sitting in the garage from past projects because the wood was ugly, well that is perfect for this sign so off the boards came and Joe got to cutting.  For the post of the sign we went to my mom's house for Easter and found it there.  She lives on 5 acres of land and as some of you may know Texas had one of the worst droughts in history last summer.  A lot of the trees on my mom's property were dead and had to be cut down...great for me because I had a great variety of awesome wood posts to choose from.  Ultimately we got one that was about 10 feet tall, really knobby and not 100% straight.  We got it that tall so that we could cut it down to the height we wanted and not be forced to work with something that wasnt really tall enough for what I was looking for.

So right now I have all the directional signs made, the post prepped and waiting (prepped as in sprayed down with raid to kill any bugs that may be living inside of it) and now we just have to add the lettering.  My first thought was to burn the letters on so that its much more permanent than paint.  My idea was to etch into the wood the words, pour some gasoline on it and set it on fire...what a great idea...but it didnt turn out at all so dont try that at home folks!  Joe is going to get a wood burning kit today and we are going to try that.  If that doesnt work then Im just going to use good old fashioned paint.  More to come on this awesome sign.

Im still in process of taking pictures of the sign so Ill post those with the next update so we can see what we're working with.  Im really excited about it because its so full of character and no one else has anything remotely close to it in the neighborhood.  The plan is to put it in the front yard and if the HOA asks us to move it then it will just go somewhere in the backyard, but we are going to try the front yard first and see what happens!  Wish us luck :D

What projects are you working on right now?!

Project Housewife Out!

Foodie Friday #20

Happy Good Friday/Passover everyone!  Im sure you have all seen the million and one Easter food posts around the blog-osphere and on Pinterest.  Well I dont really have one for you today mainly because my mom is doing Easter this year so I didnt have to think about what to cook this year.  The recipe I am sharing with you today I did make this past Christmas and they tasted awesome...but make sure you read the note at the bottom of the recipe for notes on yeast and bread rising.  

These rolls are great for any occasion, although I really dont like to make homemade bread unless family is coming over...its a lot of work for everyday cooking, for me at least.  So without further ado, I present to you Cinnamon-Glazed Butterhorns!!

Cinnamon-Glazed Butterhorns

(A Taste of Home recipe)

Servings: 24       Prep Time: 35min     Rise Time: 1hr   Cook Time: 15min     Difficulty: Moderate

 (source)

Ingredients

·         1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast (not instant)

·         ¼ cup warm water (110° to 115°)

·         1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)

·         ½ cup butter, melted

·         ¼ cup sugar

·         1 egg

·         ¾ teaspoon salt

·         4 to 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         1 cup confectioners’ sugar

·         ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         1 to 2 tablespoons hot water

Instructions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, egg, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-in. circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form a crescent.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

For glaze, heat butter in a small saucepan until golden brown; remove from the heat. In a bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and browned butter until smooth. Whisk in enough hot water to achieve spreading consistency. Brush over warm rolls.

**Notes** When I made this my dough didnt rise at all...I seem to have a hard time with that and its probably due to the quality of yeast I use, I hear great things about King Arthur yeast.  But as I said this dough didnt rise but I still cooked them anyway.  They didnt have the fluffy texture that crescent rolls normally have but the flavor was great.  Dont throw it out just because it doesnt rise, try to bake it and see what happens.  Also...sometimes the yeast doesnt rise because the water is either too hot or not hot enough.  If you are an expert with yeast then no worries but for beginners I recommend using a thermometer to get the right temp that should help with the rising issue as well.

Nutrition

1 roll equals 160 calories, 6 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 118 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. 

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up!  Come check me out at Petals to Picots, Bacon Time, Addicted 2 Decorating, Six Sisters Stuff, Positively Splendid, Tip Junkie, Not Just a Housewife, Ginger Snap Crafts, My Girlish Whims, Lil Pink Pocket, DIY By Deisgn, Southern Lovely, Beyond the Picket Fence, Made Famous By

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone!  Some of you may have Good Friday off and if you do...lucky ducks!  I will be here working but I am stewing on a great recipe for tomorrow.  Any suggestions on what kind of recipe you would like to see?

 (source)

Today, in honor of the holiday we are about to celebrate, I want to say I am thankful for Jesus.  To be honest I really dont like when blogs drone on and on about religion.  That may offend some and Im sorry but the blogs I follow, I do so because they are creative in all ways but when all the posts become all about your religion and nothing to do with why I loved your blog in the first place I lose interest.  Well I dont want to lose your interest but I do feel it needs to be said that I am thankful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I have had some great opportunities come my way this year and I 100% believe that its because I am being more faithful in my walk and my giving to the Lord.

(source)

It seems to me the Easter has become more about candy and easter egg hunts than what the holiday is actually about.  The other day I was wondering why we even have the egg as a symbol for Easter.  For Christmas I know what the majority of the traditions are about (mainly because its my favorite holiday) but for Easter I was clueless, I couldnt see the connection...until I went to the History channel's website.  Apparently the egg used to be considered a meat and was forbidden as part of Lent.  As Lent comes to a close with Easter Sunday, thousands of years ago, people would decorate the eggs to celebrate the ability to eat them again.  Eggs also represent new life as an egg (when fertilized of course) brings a chick into the world.  Which can of course be tied to Easter Sunday as Jesus rose from the grave, with new life.  I get the connection and can get on board with that, so future possible children of mine, dont worry your Easter eggs are safe :)  If you want to read more about Easter traditions, here is the link to the History channel.  Im sure there are other places to find out about Easter, but the History channel's site seems more legit over Wikipedia.  Also, the Easter Bunny came along because they are pretty fertile and also bring new life, and hello they are adorable!

 (source)

Aside from traditions that were made to fit a holiday that can stand alone as amazing, remember the reason for the season (as so many people say for Christmas) and that is Easter is about a time we celebrate Chris rising from the dead and bringing new life and hope to the masses.  There is nothing I could be more thankful for than knowing that I get to spend eternity in heaven (which by the way still terrifies me, even though its a happy thing).  I want to wish you all a Happy Easter, I hope you get to spend some quality time with your loved ones and remember why we actually celebrate Easter and not as just another day to buy cards and candy.

As always, I leave you with my pretty puppy Oreo.  Im trying to get him to pose for the camera but I think thats going to take some more work...at least I can get him to look at the camera and hold still for 10 seconds!

Project Housewife Out!

Work it Out

Some of you may have noticed my blog going through some changes.  Im trying to find the perfect layout that fits my personality but not feeling too cluttered at the same time.  I think I found it with this current one, the colors are pretty much the colors that are in my house so that makes me smile :)  The blog template comes from  The Cutest Blog on the Block and I have to agree with them they have some mighty fine lookin blog templates, banners, backgrounds and buttons.  If you are looking for a update check them out.

Im also trying to figure out this tab bar at the top of the page so you can go to my home page, about me, contact me and some other pages.  That is a work in progress so bare with me while I try to figure out all the coding and such.  I dont have it in the budget to hire someone to do this and I think it just makes me that much smarter to be able to know how to do some of this on my own.

Stay tuned for the final look which I can hopefully turn out by the end of the week, but who knows what snags I will run across on my internet journey!

To keep you entertained until then, here are some projects I have in the works (in no particular order)

• Build a platform for the media room
• Create a fun/quirky outdoor sign
• Hang measuring cups from cabinet door
• Paint master bedroom
• Re-do upholstery on headboard
• Decals for the media room

Not too big of a list but all of this takes time and money...time we have money is another story so its baby steps one project at a time.  Any projects you would love to see done?

Project Housewife Out!