Don't Call It a Comeback, I Been Here for Years

...but most folks wouldn't suspect it

because I haven't made a post

in two years.

Cue crickets chirping...

I miss blogging!  I started this blog several years ago as a way to document the recipes I tried when I was attempting to learn to cook like a grown-up(I still can't, by the way). It was never really about getting readers so much as it was a way for me to document that process, and later, my sewing attempts. Yeah, I lost some focus from where I started with the cooking, but that was part of the fun of it, trying new things and seeing what I could do.

My life has changed since I quit the blog. Things have happened that I have no control over and some of those things have saddened and changed me in ways I didn't think possible. But I am going to try my best to accept the things that I cannot change, make my own happy, and get the hell on with a fulfilling life. I've allowed myself to turn into one of the sitting dead in front of a screen viewing television, playing stupid online games and watching everyone else's life roll by on social media while pretending that my own is hunky dory, when really, it's not. It's made me grumpy and pessimistic. OK, I've always been slightly grumpy and pessimistic, I admit it. However, it is time I get over myself and make my own happy. I don't pretend to be a great artist, a great quilter, or a great cook by any stretch of the imagination, but doing these things make me happy.  For some strange reason, documenting them in this forum also gives me a little jolt.

I miss the reflection that naturally comes from sitting down to write a blog post about a particular project or experience. It sounds corny, but I think I was more in tune with myself when I was blogging regularly.

I miss the way being a blogger encouraged me to constantly try something new or at the very least pushed me into doing something...trying new recipes, painting, quilting, crafting, sewing, writing, playing with my camera. I'm still creating, but not regularly and not with the gusto that I once did. Now instead of thinking "I cannot wait to get started on the next project!" it's more of a "I should probably sew/bake/quilt/paint something" mentality.

I want to be that girl who couldn't wait to get up in the morning or get home from work to pursue crafty and creative endeavors. Who spent hours doing instead of sitting. For whatever reason, blogging originally motivated me to begin being creative after a long period of non-creativity and I could use a push in that direction again.

I see no reason why I can't be that creative, motivated, blogger-girl again. It may be sparse, it may be all over the place, and it may take a while for the momentum to build and for me to get back into those routines, but I am going to get back to it. Besides, I have this blog just sitting around taking up interweb space so I should probably put it to use.

**revised an updated version of a post I made the first time I fell off the blog wagon**

Donald Duck Painting

ANOTHER crazy snow storm here in Western KY less than two weeks from the first one! This time we got somewhere between 17-20" of snow. I decided to pull out the acrylic paints instead of quilting.

I purchased a big honkin' canvas last week with no idea what to do with it. My brother suggested a Disney themed painting and I was all over that! I thought I'd try Mickey or maybe one of the Disney Dogs...I love them all. But Donald is my most favorite Disney character and I knew I had to pay homage to my favorite fella with a portrait. I did some searching online and found a some nice line drawings of Donald. Once I decided on a happy version of Donald, I got that on the canvas and started playing around with the background.

I wanted Donald to really stand out, so I went with a dark, more subtle background. It ended up much lighter in the finished piece. Honestly, I spent as much time working on the background as I did Donald!

After two days and hours of work, Donald if finally done! And I'm in love. I'm not braggin' I'm just saying this painting makes me very happy. It's awaiting a final coate of matte varnish and then it's going on my living room wall.

KY Snow Apocalypse = Bursts of Creativity!

I live in Western Kentucky, where the weather has multiple personalities. A couple weeks ago we had a major snowstorm and I was lucky enough forced to miss several days of work. During that time, I decided to fire up Katie Kenmore and did some quilting...well, quilt top making to be honest.

First, I used a Central Park charm pack and some neutral solids from my stash and made this easy cheesy baby quilt top. I have no idea which of the five babies I know who have recently entered or will soon be entering the world is going to get this, if any. I have another stack of these charms, I will definitely pair it up with white the next time. 

Next, I pulled out a stack of 10" blue squares and got busy on another quilt top. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do. Pinwheels? Simple four patch? So I started snooping around online and was inspired by a really cool yellow/gray star quilt and ultimately ended up with this. 

In the midst of this quilt top, I killed my iron. Again. My husband was nice enough to get me out of the house once the roads were somewhat less treacherous, take me to WalMart, and buy a new iron. He's a keeper, ladies! However, as is evidenced in the photo below, where I'm posing with an iron,  I WAS at the point of stir crazy, so he probably did it for his own sanity as well as mine. 

Quilted!

Years ago I started this quilt...like five years ago. I'm pretty sure it's the seconds quilt top I made. This wast he first time I'd tried free motion quilting in quite a while, and I struggled with it. A lot. 

I did try my hand at FMQ some paisley's, they turned out OK! Wow...I need better lighting!

Once it went through the washer and dryer, the mistakes that were so blatant before magically disappeared like they always do! 

It felt great to finally finish a quilt! This one will be donated to a needy kiddo at the school were I work. 

The Dark Lord...Quilted!

So, my brother is a phenomenal artist. He did some Star Wars art a while back and had asked me if I'd like to collaborate and quilt one of his pieces. This is just a test print, and my first time to attempt something like this. I free motion quilted the entire thing. When I try again, I am going to use a combination of free motion/walking foot quilting.  Despite a few flub ups, I absolutely LOVE it! More(and even better) versions of this to come!

New Year, New Blog Post

On Painting...
So waaay back in the Summer(How I miss the Summer) I got brave and entered two paintings in a local art show. I wasn't expecting to win anything so I wasn't surprised when I didn't. However, I wasn't expecting to SELL a painting either so I was totally surprised and overly excited when I went to pick up my paintings and instead of two paintings, I picked up a check and one painting!

This was the first time I'd sold a painting to someone whom I did not know personally and it felt GREAT! :)

The painting that sold, Fox's Forest, is pictured here.

There was a mix up at the gallery so my painting titled "Mama and Owlets" was listed as "Not for Sale",  but I l think if they had marked it with my asking price, it would have sold too. That's what I like to tell myself anyway. It's currently hanging on my living room wall.

I'm currently working on teaching myself to use watercolors and I'm having so much fun with it! I love how quickly I can finish a painting and how they look pretty good, even though I don't really have the techniques down yet. Here are a couple samples.:

From an online tutorial

Tiger Lily from Disney's Peter Pan...and that's my version of Ariel in the background. 

On Cooking...
I'm currently obsessed with this recipe from Plain Chicken. I've made it three times already and I just finished up a steaming bowl of this chicken chili concoction. It's so delicious and perfect for this ridiculously cold January in Kentucky.  Seriously, grab your crock pot and make a batch!

On Quilting...
I'm quilting again! YAAAAY! It's been forever, but I  pulled out a quilt top I started maybe 6 years ago(?) and I'm using it to practice free motion quilting. My stippling is still a hot mess, but by the time I got to the fourth block, my paisleys looked all right. If you are looking to learn FMQ, I highly recommend Leah Day's courses on Craftsy.com.

Whew, that was a lot! But it feels good to blog after so long an absence. I just may do it again soon!

And She's Arsty-Fartsy!

One of the things I started doing in my bloggy absence was painting. I've always been kind of artsy-fartsy. I had never put paint to canvas, though, not even in high school Art class a jillion years ago. Last Fall, as a way to help cope with stress and to try and force myself to be more creative, I bought a nice set of acrylic paints, some canvases and jumped right in.

And I fell in love.

This was my first acrylic painting.

Pam's Flamingo

I think I've improved since that first painting, but I still don't know exactly what I'm doing a lot of the time and I'm still coming into my own style wise.  For the most part, I just try to relax and enjoy myself and the process. I've been fortunate that friends and family have enjoyed my paintings and I've actually sold a few and done some commission work.

Last week I was at my local Fine Arts Center buying tickets for Lyle Lovett & His Large Band tickets(if he ever comes to your town GO, trust me on this) when I came across a flyer for a Juried Art Exhibit. I decided to do something really scary and enter a couple of paintings. It's one thing sharing pictures of my paintings on Facebook with friends and family, but having experts scrutinize my artwork...terrifying!

This morning at exactly 9am(I knew I'd back out if I didn't do it right away) I headed into the Fine Arts Center to leave my paintings. I was a nervous wreck walking in with them, and nearly chickened out when I saw the other entries that were being lined up along the walls. I mean, these people are real artists, I still see myself mostly as an artist at heart. I realized I was out of my league was when I saw the prices of the other works for sale compared to mine. I'm like the Dollar General Store of the Art Exhibit. Sigh.

But I kept my nerve up and left my paintings to be judged anyway. I've sold what I think are better paintings, but these two are the most "me" of anything I've done.

Mama and Owlets

Fox's Forest

I don't expect to win an award, but I am extremely proud of of myself for working up the courage to enter them in the exhibit. I'm  also pretty excited that my paintings will be hanging in an actual gallery!

Seriously Simple Chicken Caesar Wraps

In addition to rebooting this blog, I've also recently begun to reboot my own health. Attempting to steer clear of fast food when I needed a quick meal recently, I thought back to my very first go on Weight Watchers and remembered making chicken caesar wraps fairly often.

This is as close to actual cooking as I have been in quite some time. I'm slightly embarrassed by the simplicity of it, but hey, at least it's a move in the right direction! Here's what I did...

Grilled up some chicken tenders on the stovetop and assembled a Caesar Salad using:

Dole's Classic Romaine Mix
Ken's Creamy Caesar dressing (I've since realized they make a light version which is just as delicious).
Italian blend cheese
Bacon bits

Plopped everything onto an Italian Flat Out

And rolled.

Quick, Easy, and Tasty! I had forgotten how good these are...especially when that warm chicken is combined with the cold salad. Mmmm Mmm!  In case you're wondering, the seven chicken tenders and bag of salad made 3 nice sized wraps and one smaller wrap on a tortilla.

And BAM...just like that, I'm cooking again(sorta)! 

hellooooooo....

I have been noticeably absent for quite some time.

But I'm planning a comeback.

Of some sort.

Sometime.

 In the future.

In the meantime, here's a picture of my dog, Mya, hanging out in the library.

Coco-Pineapple Sticks

I'm a fan of both pineapple and coconut, so I couldn't wait to try this simple little snack from the July/August issue of WW Magazine!

As it turns out, it was not only simple but scrumptious in a frosty-frozen-pineapple-y way! And, according to the mag, it'll only cost you 2PointsPlus.



Start with a cored pineapple, coconut, some skewers, a bowl for dipping and a plate or baking sheet for the freezer.

Cut the pineapple into 1"x 3"(ish) chunks and add skewer. Sample some of that fresh, pretty, sweet pineapple. Not because you can't help yourself...just to make sure it tastes OK of course. 

Toast up some coconut, about 1 cup. Try not to eat it all before you dip the pineapple.

Roll the pineapple in the coconut. Or do what I did...smush the pineapple into the coconut because rolling wasn't getting it coconut-y enough! The magazine suggests that you dip the pineapple into pineapple juice before rolling in the coconut. My pineapple was pretty darn juicy to begin with and I didn't have any pineapple juice on hand, so I skipped that step. Don't think it affected the outcome much.

Take a couple of gratuitous pineapple/coconut shots before sticking your plate of goodness into the freezer.

In approximately 2 hours, your coco-pineapple sticks will be frozen to perfection! Enjoy them on their own or with a slab of angel food cake...my preferred way!