Freezer Jam

Most of my memories of childhood involve a TON of homemade food. My parents canned most everything, and froze the rest. My first home was an old farmhouse on 5 acres of land. 4 of those acres were rented out and 1 acre was there for my family of 9.

Yes... 9.

That's just the kids... not my parents.

So, it was imperative for my mom to know how to can. I just thought it was normal, until I got a little older and then thought it was just hard work.

As the kids all left and went to college, and dad got promotions, we canned a little less every year. But one thing we've always done is freezer jam.

So... bad and horrible true admission? I'm the youngest. I'm the spoiled one. I'm kinda built in lazy. Sooo I've never helped make the freezer jam before.

Seriously.

And now with my new gung-ho-I-can-do-this attitude, I decided that this year I'd help with the making of the freezer jam.

All 24 quarts of it.

It was AWESOME! I feel great about finding a new thing I can do to keep the traditions of my childhood for my kids. Especially the really yummy ones that happen to be easy peasy lemon squeezie!

Gooey Cake

So I'm a blog troller. I love to hang out on many a blog and dream about trying to do what they've done... or modifying it so that it would work in my world.

I'm also a huge lover of all things food. So when I saw this post by Homemade by Jill I had to make it.

I have to admit, at first I was hugely disappointed. I was thinking... BUTTER! Cream cheese! More BUTTER! How can this be a bad plan? (I made the un-pumpkin version.)

But I had a piece of it right after it came out of the oven and it was still hot. (Gooey cake... seems like something that is good hot... right?!?)

It's more like cheese cake... much better cold!

I'm now very glad I made it and eat it for breakfast...

It has eggs in it... two of them...

I guess now I think I'm a baker. :)

Go BE!

It's Confusing... I know

So this past week officially started football season in my home. As a mother of 2 little boys (Bubby* 2yrs and Tank* 4.5 months) sports are going to be in my home for a long time. SO... I decided to embrace the inevitable and go with the flow.

Mr. ITICB loves football (mainly professional) and since he is back in school this year going for his Executive MBA, he is following his new Alma Mater on the football field as well.

The University of Utah...

I'm a Cougar...

Can you see how this could end up being a problem?

So, I came up with a solution and my project of the week:



HA! I'm officially stoked to get these printed up and put on anything I can! Shirts, bags, sweatshirts, hats... I'm thinking of wearing them everywhere so that the locals will know I've officially lost it.

Cause I have to support both. Cougars have my heart, and the U has my money...

*children's nicknames are subject to change at any time.

Last Week's Madness

So this past week, I tackled what IMHO is one of the great uglies of my home. The basement.

For many moons the basement has been the catch all. The place to put whatever it is that I have no idea where it will go, and yet I can't bring myself to throw away. (Familiar?)

Well... Last week we went from having all of this (which is in my garage now),



To looking like this!


After taking out all the treasures (crap), giving it a good dusting and few different vacuums, it is habitable. Over the next few weeks I will finish painting (I've started and the view you're looking at is the new paint. It used to be 3 different shades of white. We bought the house that way...)

Now it is a nice calming grey-blue that Mr. ITICB picked out.

It's his new office.

I'll let him have one.

We've always found this to be the weirdest room in the house. When it was finished off... let's just say there was no professional involved. In fact, I think a trained monkey might have done better. But it's a room, and Mr. ITICB needs an office so that he can go and seclude himself from the world while living through his MBA.

The exciting part for me is that I get the other half of the room!

This wonderful hole in the wall is going to serve the secondary purpose of being my craft/learning/I can think I can be ... room! Yay!

Now I'm going to be off... I've started another project so that I can get ready to post later this week. (I'm hoping.)

With 2 little boys, a new puppy, and a husband in his MBA program, I just might be the craziest chick I know for doing this blog too... but I'm actually hoping it will keep me sane.

Go figure...

Introduction

Hi! I'm Nichole and I think I can be ANYTHING!

No really...

I think I really can be anything I want to be. With a little work, a lot of research, and effort put into it, I really do think I can be anything I want to be. AND I think I can be great at it!

Am I great now? Well... My husband thinks I am, and my dog thinks I walk on water (what dog doesn't?) ... My boys from time to time think I am ... and I have a few select friends out there who think that I'm pretty cool.

Other than that, it's iffy.

You see, I'm one of those people. The people who look like they've got it together on the outside, but really, on the inside I'm just a big hot mess. I have so many ideas, and things I want to learn, but I'm either way to lazy, way to busy, or way to tired to do those things I know I need to do to be anything but tired!

So, I'm starting a blog. (Cause, I need to be held accountable.) I need to set goals I actually keep. And come up with those lists of things I want to learn how to do, and then do them.

I know secretly you're agreeing with me. That you too have that idea that maybe, just maybe you might be a hidden crafter, or painter, or photographer, or ________ (please fill in the blank). And if you are, you just might be my kind of person.

So join me! Find something every week that you want to figure out how to do. It might be big (mondo project of the century... my basement...) or it might be small (how do people make those little crafty things they give away?!?). But even if you don't join me, I'm bound and determined to do it!

My goal: Once a week to pick a project that I may or may not know how to do and post about it. I might give updates throughout the week, or just one big blog after it's done. Either way, you'll be able to either laugh with me, cry with me, or gasp at my awesome failure/achievement!

I'm Nichole... and I think I can be...