Loft in Progress....

It started a little over a year ago with a plan for the loft in our house:

It was collecting junk, unused and very unfriendly on the eyes.... :)

Earlier this month, I finally got to go to IKEA with my friend (& neighbor) Anna, and got the last of the bookcases to fill the wall and a chair & drawer unit for the built-in desk.

The next week, Brian assembled the bookcases....

 

And the next day, he added the doors....

The next weekend, we started to paint....

 

 

The weekend after that, we finished painting and hung frames....

 

 

 

 

The next week, Brian worked on some of the finishing touches (curtain rod got hung, missing moulding installed, desk furniture assembly....

 

 

And now we are on the final stretch for now....

Final painting, building the desk, putting pictures in the frames and making curtains.

Getting so close and I'm so happy with how it is coming together!

What do you think?

Forty Three...

... is the number of jars of jam I made last summer!

12 Apricot

11 Red Raspberry

8 Mixed Berry (Strawberry, Blackberry, Blueberry)

4 Blueberry

4 pints Strawberry Vanilla

3 pints Olallieberry

All super delicious!! :)

I used various sites for reference, but ended up deciding to rely upon the info on this site.  Most recipes seem to call for a one cup fruit to one cup sugar ratio.  In my opinion?  WAY too much sugar.  So I experimented and learned that it's easiest to add about a half cup of sugar at a time until it tastes right!   My ratio is about 6 cups fruit to 1-1/2 cups sugar (or less depending on the sweetness of the fruit), 1 tsp pectin, 1 lemon (juiced) and about 1/2 cup water.  Cook until it boils and starts rising, turn down the heat and then use the freezer plate method (found here) to test for the jam being "done" and ready to can.  I just followed the canning methods I picked up from our canning kit last year to sterilize the equipment/jars and water pack the jam to seal the jars properly.

Already dreaming up what fruit combos to try this year.... any suggestions?! :)

The Great Wall of Soledad: Then and Now

It took two years to build.... and many more to fill the yard with plants & grass.  Last June, I was struck by how far it has come.....

Then:


Pictures taken December 7, 2008.

Now:

All of this is compliments of my hardworking, green-thumbed husband.  Thanks for giving us a backyard baby! :)

Goals for January

Already daydreaming of some pretty flowers in our yard this spring!

Okay, so here goes what I want to accomplish for this month...

*Daily journaling in my Q and A a Day: 5-Year Journal.
*Complete 4 pages for my nephew's and niece's baby books.
*Start collecting pictures and stuff for Creighton's preschool scrapbook pages.
*Blog at least once a week.
*Use at least one of my new stamp sets.
*Take pictures everyday.
*Workout at least 4 times/week (Saturday mornings with the husband!)
*Clean up my craft room disaster.
*Reorganize scarfs and travel stuff in our master closet.
*Finish Amy's quilt.
*Work on Madeline's quilt.
*Try at least one new recipe.
*Plan a girl's crafty weekend.
*Book our family trip to Disneyland in March.

That ought to keep me busy!

What are you planning on this month?

Looking Back on Goals from 2012

Photo found here.

Before I tackle this year, I do want to look back on the goals I set for 2012:

Find a new job. Success!  I have been working my new job since last February!
Learn to make marshmallows. Fail!
Make 6 quilts and sew myself a shirt. Fail!
Read 10 books.  I'm calling this one a success... between books for work, books for fun... totally did this one!
Run a 5k. Fail!
Knit a blanket. Started, so definitely a success!
Frame and hang photos. Fail! Still waiting for me to do...
Finish laundry room and paint the kitchen back splash. Fail!  Figured out what to do to finish it... just need to DO it!
Consistently take pictures, organize all our digital photos, scan all the rest and make backups.  Partial success... lots of picture taking, 100% of it on my iphone, but not so much on the rest of it!
Go camping with Brian at least once. Fail!
Do Project Life album and keep up. Fail!
Blog once a week. Complete and utter fail!  But I'm okay with it.... I was out enjoying my time with my husband, family and friends and working hard.

This year, I want to be more intentional about accomplishing things. I feel that a I have too many "loose ends" (aka unfinished projects!)... many carrying over from this list from last year.  So I'm shifting focus and setting goals monthly.  Whether or not I pause to commit them to words here?  I don't know yet.....

Do you set goals for yourself?

My One Little Word for 2013... Adventure!

I definitely enjoyed last year!  I want to continue the path I set out on in 2009 of creating, loving, living and enjoying my life.  When I thought about what I wanted out of this year.... well it was pretty easy....

My one word I want to live by this year is ADVENTURE!


Photo taken September 2012 onboard the USS Constellation in the Baltimore harbor.

I want to try new things, visit new places and have fun times with my family and friends.  Simple, easy and probably not tied to my goal setting in any way this year!

My words in the past have been.... Enjoy (2012), Live (2011), Love (2010), and Create (2009).

What are your resolutions this year?