First Chili Recipe Attempt

For Super Bowl Sunday at my brother-in-law's I decided to try to make chili. It had to be gluten-free (for husband and BIL). For day's I looked for recipes and found none that I liked. I decided to use ingredients that I saw in the various recipes and created my own. Everyone seemed to like it. I just started throwing beef, beans, spices, etc. in the crock pot and just tested it all day and added more spices as needed. I don't think I could recreate it exactly if I tried. My husb. did try to help when I was out of the house. He put hot red pepper in and made it WAY to spicy. I spent the rest of the day to cool it down without real success. I can't let him near the crock pot again. I'll admit we only went to the party for the company. We are not big football fans. We did enjoy some of the commercials and the kids always like to get together. My daughter even took her boyfriend along to meet some of the family for the first time.

Now we are in the midst of a stomach bug. Both kids came down with it within an hour of each other and of course it always start during the night. My daughter actually ended up in the ER with severe dehydration. She passed out repeatedly in my arms and looked as white as a ghost. I hope I never have to go through that again. Next week the kids have a week off and I hope it is a quiet one.

Where have I been?

I can't believe it has been almost a year since last posted. I was so excited to start a blog and then life got in the way. I will definitely post more often this year. So much has happened to us in the past year. My oldest turned 17 and I certainly don't feel old enough to have a child who is almost an adult. She got her first job AND her first boyfriend. Yikes! is that scary. My youngest just turned 13 and is just finding an interest in girls. The job search has not gone well but my previous boss did ask me to help out for a few months at the sewing shop she has been managing. We were hoping it would turn out to be long term, but with the economy, the owners are closing the shop. We are all devastated. We were feeling like a family again. So, I am back on the search for a new job.

I am ecstatic to be volunteering at a local organization that cares for birds-of-prey that are injured and cannot be re-released back into the wild. It is a dirty job but I LOVE it! This is a Saw-Whet Owl called Blaze. It has neurological injuries from hitting a car. He is one of my favorites. I am learning to handle the birds and hope to be able to go out on programs with them soon. My family has said they have noticed a difference in my mood since I started. It does make me feel very good to help out and I always come home happy. If I were younger and had the money I would go back to school for wildlife biology or zoology. I have been doing a lot of reading and research to learn as much as I can about care and rehabbing of wildlife.

I have been working on various projects and will post some of them soon. My latest craze has been learning crochet. I also found a store that teaches classes on spinning wool into yarn. Maybe I'll have to try that.

Sorry for the long post. I hope that this blog will inspire me to be more creative and will inspire others to get out of their comfort zone and try something new.

Finally...Spring is here

It has been too long since I have blogged. Things have been way to busy and I have been feeling very scattered. My daughter has her first boyfriend. That takes a long time to get used to. He is very nice and so is his family. Neither of them is driving yet so that eases my mind a bit. It just seems like kids grow up too fast. I think her father is having a more difficult time with it. He feels as if he is losing his buddy. The have a lot of interests in common and he feels like she doesn't want to spend time with him anymore. Luckily she is very caring and understanding and is trying to balance her time between boyfriend and family. She is also looking for her first job (other than babysitting).

I have been doing a lot of thinking. It seems as if that is the only thing I do. The job search is not going well and I am considering my options. With spring here, I feel as if I am changing and I can't quite see the end result. My husband likens me to a caterpiller and says soon I will become a beautiful butterfly. He is trying to be very supportive.

I have been enjoying visiting local parks and taking photos. I need all the practice I can get with my camera. I have even gotten my son interested in photography. He takes tons of pictures if the deer in the park. I have also spent more time walking the beach on Lake Ontario than I ever have in the past. It is great fun even when it is cold. I have started a collection of beach glass and uniquely colored stones. They are so smooth.

I am hoping to do more sewing in the near future. I hope to meet many sewers and crafters over the internet. I love to see what other people are making. My son wants to start sewing soon. We have found some patterns and books for making stuffed animals and puppets. Before he starts I need to clean my sewing room out and make room for another table. The room has become storage for old toys and clothes the kids have grown out of. I have been going through the clothes to see if there is any potential for craft projects. I have saved jeans for a rag quilt and my daughter wants to make a T-shirt quilt out of some of her shirts.

I have been teaching myself to crochet. I love the arigarumi animals I see on the internet and want to make some for my nieces and nephews. When I get better I will post some photos.

Spring Cleaning?

For the past couple of weeks, I have been in a cleaning frenzy. I have cleaned, organized and scrubbed nearly the entire house. I can't imagine what has given me the motivation but I'll take advantage of it! Normally I hate cleaning. I'd rather be doing something else.

My baby just turned 12. Yikes! Seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms. He has turned into such a sweet, funny, sensitive young man.

My job search has stalled. Maybe I am being too picky. I have been doing a lot of time trying to figure out what I really want to do. Do I want to do accounting or should I try to do something else? I'll keep looking and thinking and hopefully things will work out soon.

My First Posting

After getting 8 inches of snow yesterday it is the perfect time to stay indoors and introduce myself. I am the wife of a wonderful and supportive husband and mother of 2 kids, ages almost 12 and 16. I have a degree in accounting but have been a stay at home mom for many years. For the last 4 years I have been working part-time in retail to get back in the swing of the work force. I am currently not working (I took a couple of on-line classes to get myself up the speed with computer software used in accounting) and am looking for the perfect job. There are not a lot of jobs out there right now so I will be writing about my adventure of job hunting as a mom returning to the work force. I have many crafty interests. I like to sew (mostly quilting) and am just starting to learn to make clothes. I also paint, make jewelry and decorate cakes. I have taken classes in lampworking (making glass beads) and using PMC clay. Someday I will have my own kiln.