Measure Once, Cut Twice

It has been a summer filled with crafts - from wall art to a DIY desk project to some fancy cards. I have been on a crafting spree! 

I enjoyed following several different blogs which has lead to a very lofty projects "to-do" list. Expected year of completion: TBD.

I stumbled upon a post on Two Girls Being Crafty, and I thought, "How difficult can Intersecting Circle Wall Art be?" 

Answer: Very difficult. 

There was a lot more math involved in this project than I first realized. And unfortunately, my poor measuring skills did not assist my problems. 

If you are feeling rather adventurous.... or in my case, misadventurous, check out the link above to see the full step by step instructions. 

The supplies for this craft are relatively simple and inexpensive, and the final result is lots of fun! The only thing I needed to purchase was the canvas. I cut out the football/ellipse pieces from paint tiles I got at Home Depot. And I had the rest of the supplies in my craft bin.

After cutting out all 96 paint tiles into little football/ellipse shapes, I laid them out to make sure the color ratio was to my liking. Then, the fun began! 

I'm sure my English Lit professors would be proud of my continual use of my textbooks.... to help flatten out pasted pieces of paint tiles (oooh, alliteration!). :-) 

Finally, after hours of cutting, re-cutting, pasting, and shooing (Oliver), the masterpiece was complete! It is now hanging on the landing of our stairs! Very snazzy!

Measure Once, Cut Twice was brought to you today by Mathematics. Who says you won't use this stuff in the real world. 

Here are the four attempts I made at trying to find the correct size circle to complete my project. Hooray, red circle, for being a winner! 

Let Them Eat Cake

Life has been unbelievably busy lately. James and I have packed more events within the next couple of months, than I probably have in the last couple of years... ok, not exactly, but pretty close.

In fact, a few days ago I was stressed to my limits which lead to a much needed realization that I need to be relying on God's strength and not my own. It's the only way to get through the next couple of weeks.... and well, life.

"Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!" 1 Chronicles 16:11

Amongst all of the chaos (or so it sometimes feels), I have somehow added time for some fun (and creative) projects.

Big project # 1...... RUBIK'S CUBE CAKE. Seriously.

James runs an after-school cubing club with some students, and this past week was the BCC 2011 Championship!

And of course, I could not resist a reason to bake a cake! James has been planning this event since January, and while I had plenty of time back then, I'm pretty sure a Rubik's Cube Cake would not have survived winter ...which left making a tower of deliciousness for my Wednesday To Do List.

I'm sure many of you are not planning to make a Rubik's Cube Cake any time soon, so I'll leave out most of the details.... However, I followed this very cool guide on Instructables if you are looking for details.

Step One: Make some cake.... 

Step Two: Make Marshmallow Fondant! 

I've never made regular fondant, but this stuff was really good! To make your own Marshmallow Fondant: Melt 1 bag of marshmallows. Add about 3/4 a bag of powdered sugar & two tablespoons of water. Crisco your hands and counter, and knead it until its smooth and stretchy ball.

Step Three: Make a mess.

Step Four: Recruit your friends to do the hard stuff.... Thanks Heather!

  

Step Five: Reminisce on a childhood favorite pastime....

Step Six: Consult with Hubby to make sure you get the correct color orientations.... 

Step Seven: Assemble your Rubik's Cube Cake..... 

Step Eight: Enjoy! ....Delicious & unNutritious! 

.....more projects and misAdventures coming soon.....

When the Weather Outside is Frightful...

I have been hearing a lot of hate for the recent frightful *delightful* weather.

So I've composed this list of....

Things to Do 

When the Weather Outside is.... 

Snowy: 

1. Stay inside & keep your toesy warm! Here are some inside activities:

• Read a good book. 
• Start a First Snow of the Winter Tradition. Ours is pancakes. 
• Say "See Ya" to Christmas (We did this one today).
• Invent a new indoor sport.
• Find a Fix-It project to do around the house (Coming Soon.... Christa's Adventures with a Desk).
• Plan out how to ideally organize your home. No action necessary. 

Ok, ok, I'm sure many of you are saying, "Yeah, that's great, but I have to be outside to shovel the snow." Well, have no fear! The list continues....

2. Go outside & make the best of it! Here are some activities to make the shoveling more exciting:

• Make a contest out of shoveling. First one to finish their section gets a hot cocoa *or* a hot bath *or* a hot bath in cocoa.
• Squash little piles of snow that have started turning to slush. ::Squish:: 
• Sing loudly & don't worry about the neighbors.
• If you are working with other people, invent a story while you work. Each person takes turns telling part of the story. Here is a starter: "One day my car broke down on my way work. I decided to walk the rest of the way when a large porcupine crossed my path. He said to me...." 

::Phew:: Now that your work is done, here is my favorite part.... 

3. Activities to do in the snow:

• Make a snow angel.
• Have a snowball fight. Team up against the rowdy neighborhood kids.
• Make a snowman. Give him a rich back story. 
• Convince your hubby that you can go sledding without a sled (I haven't succeed with this one yet).

4. Remember the days when you were a kid: 

• The excitement of waking up and seeing the snow falling out your window. 
• The HOPE of hearing the words, "No School." 
• The begging to go sledding (hmm... somethings never change). 
• The first pancake of the first snowfall. 
• The delight of coming in from the snow bundled up, cold, runny nosed, and finding out that mom just made you some hot cocoa. :-) 
• Enjoy these times. Enjoy the Snow. 

Merry Christmas!

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" Luke 2:11-14

I absolutely love Christmas! Here are some of my favorites from Christmas 2010:

Our first Christmas tree! However, it didn't stay like this for long....

Sending and sharing some love ♥ 

Baking for my first Cookie Swap - Six dozen Jam Kolache Cookies, a Polish tradition!

Steven singing in his school's Christmas play 

(the kid in the center holding the fruitcake) 

A little Unrelated-to-Christmas Cubing - Liberty Science 2010 Competition  

     Shipping boxes become a Kitten Adventure! 

 Gingerbread fun! 

 And of course, 

 the reason our Christmas Tree is nearly bare. 

Merry Christmas, Everyone!! 

Oh, Facebook.

Please excuse me from jumping on my soapbox. 

In high school, I did not like to follow trends. I'm sure most of you can recall my wonderful fashion sense. 

As of right now, I am beginning to feel a bit like a cow in a group of cattle. A recent trend told everyone to change their Facebook picture to a cartoon character. The supposed reason was to "end child abuse." I choose to changed my picture, but I did so fully understanding that I was not doing anything to end child abuse. I did so because I thought it was a fun way to reminisce of my childhood. It was fun to see what characters my friends chose, especially those who did not grow up in the same generation as me. 

However, a few days after I changed my picture, I was being warned that I was now supporting pedophiles, and I must change back my picture! I'm not going to encourage this debate. However, this statement is not true. If you would like more information, see the following link: http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/cartoon.asp

However, this whole ordeal has made me realize, I am not a sheep. I am not a cow. I am not a hen. I purposely did not post the location that I put my purse during that trend "to find a cure for breast cancer." I purposely do not copy and paste other people's status' to "help support the cure for belly button lint" or whatever. And I don't "Like" everything under the sun just because 10 of my friends just did.  These things are merely another way to shuffle people to the next trend or to the next "cause." 

I am leaving my picture as Patti Mayonnaise because I am confident that I am not supporting a pedophile. I also know I am not doing anything to end child abuse by leaving it as a cartoon character. I plan to leave it like this as long as I like. And the next time I change my picture or my status will not be because of some trend.

Thank you Crazy Facebook Trend for making me realize that I really admire High School Christa.

Slooooowing Down

Life seems to be moving at such a fast pace. Autumn is my favorite season, and I always hate the day that I realize the leaves are gone... Winter is coming. Sometimes it is good to take a moment and slow life down.

My Mondays are usually the biggest victim of Zoomatitis, so this past Monday, I decided not to do my usual RUSH through every bit of housework. Instead, I woke up, and I decided to work at a slow pace. To just get done whatever I was able to complete. To my surprise, I actually finished my usual Monday work-load, and I had time to do some baking. 

Unfortunately, baking lead to the smoke detectors going off.... which lead to this... 

Oh well. 

Anyway, I challenge you to take a day, and slow things down. Who knows, you may end up with an enraged cat hiding under your dishwasher. 

The Obvious Choice

A certain blogger, friend, and Unsocialed Homeschooler recently posed a debate that I had never considered... until now.

I after much thought and deliberation I have decided where I sit on the Ninja/Pirate Debate.

I will now present my case for Ninjas... The Obvious Choice:

Point 1: Ninjas are stealthy. Pirates are dirty.

Point 2: It takes a lifetime of training to become a ninja. This is not the case for pirates. A proper girl from a regal family can manage the pirate lifestyle in approximately 94 minutes of movie screen time.

Point 3: A ninja would sneak up on a pirate while he is enjoy his rum and... ATTACK. Pirate down.

Point 4: A ninja has mind tricks.... no wait, that is a Jedi.... I'm going to count this anyway.

Point 5: Pirates are dirty.

Agree? Disagree? Let me hear it.

(Also, I apologize for my lack of photos. I will mend this terrible mistake after my first encounter with a ninja or a pirate).