Monday, March 9, 2009

It's Rodeo time

~I am so excited because it is Rodeo time in Austin.

The Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, contributes over $1.5 million annually to the youth of Texas with the help of over 2,500 volunteers, donors and sponsors. Through its acclaimed Livestock Show, Fair, and Rodeo, the Star of Texas continues to work towards the advancement of its mission, “Promoting Youth Education - Preserving Western Heritage.” The Star of Texas delivers superior entertainment to the community while boasting an economic impact that exceeds $54 million annually. Staying true to the official sport of Texas, the Star of Texas is proud to host the world’s 6th largest indoor, regular season ProRodeo known as Rodeo Austin.



~My mama is coming to town and it will be her and Burger's first Rodeo. We are planning on heading over Friday for the carnival sneak peek and dollar rides night. It is free parking and admission on Friday the 13th.
~Then Saturday we are gonna head over for extreme bull riding .....and The Randy Rogers band!(you may remember an earlier Post about randy here )I am thrilled to be going to this show it will be the first time I have seen them and I am sure it will be a good-un'

~Another one of my favorite rodeo events is mutton bustin' hopefully we will see some young cowboys and cowgirls strutting their stuff!

~We will probably head over during the day Saturday or Sunday for the petting zoo and the pig races. I am leaning towards Saturday because they are having a foot tapping fiddle contest from 2-7. Anyway we may be a little MIA while nanny is here, but I will be bringing lots of photos of our good times(as per usual)
here is the complete schedule

~ One last thing we may squeeze into mama's long Austin weekend is Sunny Sweeny on monday March 16th . She will be outside at the rodeo from 4:30 to 6. If you are local this is one to catch. Sunny is the real deal, a true texas songbird....LOVE HER
...bye bye now! and yee haw

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

roly poly


Armadillidiidae is a family of woodlice, a terrestrial crustacean group in the order Isopoda. Unlike members of the family Porcellionidae, members of this family can roll into a ball, giving them their common name of "pill bug", or the more recent and increasingly popular term, "roly-poly", which has been used regionally as early as 1968. Uncited references also date use of the term in Texas as early as 1925.[1]

The best known species in the family is Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill bug. These arthropods commonly feed on decaying vegetation and are found under logs, garbage pails or any other place where moisture can be found. Moisture is essential to pill bugs due to their breathing organs, which are like gills. Pill bugs, although often thriving in damp areas, have often been known to live in dry beds. Pill bugs' defensive posture is curling up into a ball. Pill bugs have no specialized predators, though they play host to specialized parasitoids in the fly family Rhinophoridae. ...from Wikipedia


~We have been having alot of fun around here with rolly pollies. ...This is actually all in response to a bug freak out that Mama and burger had last Friday in the absence of our fierce leader(daddy was working late). the story goes...I was on the phone and burger says" here mama" and hands me a tiny something, I figured it was a StarWars mini we have a gazillion lying around. .

...but, low and behold it was small stink bug. ewww, yucky yuk yuk( they ruin tomato plants!!) ~ As you might suspect, I FREAKED OUT!!! I screamed and swatted it to the floor (or so I thought). We discovered that it was not on the floor but on Burger's lap , He got so scared and started crying and freaking out as well (just like mama ) . Well needless to say I felt just awful about scaring my little munchkin. So after I carefully caught the lil' monster and put him outside( tip..if you ever run in to one of these critters don't kill it in your house cause they will stink! try not to scare them either ) I made a mental vow that I would have to get over my little (hehehe) fear in order to make sure burger did not inherit this debilitating disorder.


~Well of course daddy was the first to take charge of this situation. As soon as there was warm sunshine , they went out bug hunting...rolly pollies!... On a side note I am not scared of rolly pollies , worms, or lady bugs. TodayI found this cute little bug catcher holder thing with a little magnifier attached to the top and Burger just loved it!

....We had a fun time together conquering our fears

PS....I couldn't find the bob will's version, so here is Marty Robbins singing You guessed it!





Thursday, February 26, 2009

baby baby baby!!!

It seems there are lots of new babies coming into our lives! One of my oldest dearest friends is due in April so I have been putting together a very special bundle for our new lil bundle! My sis also had several babies to shower and she asked me to help her make some special handmade shower gifts.

~I got these beautiful embroidered felt booties from the sweetly talented Tanto Craft studio for a song. ...She is really awesome you should check her blog and shop often she is full of treasures and always has an inspired post to share.

~I also whipped up a set of sweet receiving blankets. These are so easy and they are such a special treat to get. I stock up on sweet flannels in the spring when they are trying to reduce inventory(I always get an extra 1/4 yard of fabric for cards and applique's) ! ...All you do is use an old blanket as a pattern and then finish the edges however you deem fit. I always get the sweetest thank you cards when I give handmade blankets.

~Speaking of cards, I love making cards especially baby cards. ....You can really do all kinds of fun stuff for baby cards. I have been diving into the world of Modge Podge lately and having alot of fun using it in cards . On these the background is yellow tule over tissue paper. I attached them using Modge Podge and then the sheep fabric was just stitched on top.

~A few other handmade baby gift ideas are appliqued onsies or T shirts or hats. You can get cute bucket hats and onsies at any dollar store or the thrift. Whatever you decide to get you can always add some of your own special good will to a new baby, when you add a handmade gift to the bundle.

~You can even recycle bits of fabric to wrap up your baby gift in green scrappy style. I used a serger strip for a ribbon... and made a flower bow from some other scrappy scraps, fun stuff!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

standing still

~We have been just maintaining around here. Daddy has been working nonstop. We had no weekend and he has been gone most nights. I am grateful he has work , but really we just miss him. Daddy is my best friend and provides me with my production breaks. He is also the balance that keeps my multitasking tendencies from spinning into a crazy mess. Well obviously by the looks of this photo the mess has fallen all over my bed room.


...reading time
~One productive thing I have done in the past week is get contacts. I consider myself a "person who wears glasses". I have had glasses since the the third grade . But with my crazy headaches and the Texas sun it is nice sometimes to get the weight off. I had let my contact prescription expire last summer. So I visited my friendly optometrist and they set me free.
And now a few snapshots of our lonely week...

~Burger misses his hard working daddy.

~"Pterodactyl"
...and burger can wash his hands!!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

I love you sticky rice with mango ..I really do.

There is a new love in my life and it's name is"Khao Neeo Mamuang".... or sticky rice with mango. I had my first taste at Thai fresh a few weeks ago(without mango). Then we went in for a family Valentine's treat and they were sold out(not surprising) . So Jam said, "you can make it at home" and gathered up a small pile of ingredients from their market and sent me on my way to conquer my own sticky rice.
( this is not my photo we ate ours to fast to photograph) One of the most important aspects of the sticky rice is the rice you use called, sticky rice or sweet rice.
Also important to this dish is that you soak the rice over night or at least four hours.
Steaming the rice (not boiling) is also important.
I steamed my rice in a dim sum stacked bamboo steamer lined with flour sack towels and it came out perfect.
This is the real deal bamboo rice steamer and now I think I need one.
I used Mexican mangoes cause that is what we have at our market right now. I do not think I have ever had a Thai mango, but they are said to be sweeter and creamier than their Mexican counterparts.( and some would say I have never really tasted a real mango)(the Mexican mango is on the left and Indian mango on the right)


~Needless to say my sticky rice was delish. Jam was right, I could make it at home!!... and so can you. I think it makes a great breakfast as well, if you have a picky lil monster like me.
Jam also said I could cut the sugar or use agave nectar as the sweetener if I like, I went with her recipe as is though, so I would have a good reference point. I found that I did not need to change it for our house's taste buds.

~The pandan leaves are kin to a vanilla type flavor....They definitely have their own distinct flavor , but it acts like an accent to the sugar flavor the way vanilla adds depth.I think they are the secret ingredient here, I got mine from Jam and the coconut cream and rice and it was all around 5 bucks.
This will be a mainstay through the end of the summer around this house. I think it would be tasty with other fruits as well , strawberries for sure!


Here is Jam's recipe from her blog Thai cooking with jam

2 cups sweet or glutinous rice (either long grain or short grain. Long grain is preferred just because that’s the kind we use in Thailand but if you have short grains, they work just as good. It will take longer to cook short grains because the grain is thicker)
2 cups coconut cream (a small can)
1 cup sugar
large pinch of salt
Pandunas Leaves or Pandan leaves or the essence (optional)

Soak rice overnight or for about 4 hours. Drain, rinse and steam over medium heat in a steamer for about 15-20 minutes. Any steamer will do just fine. If you have one of those bamboo steamer, go for it. Check if the rice is cooked from the thickest part of the pile.

If a steamer is not available, put soaked sticky rice in a bowl and cover with a dish or cheesecloth. Cook for 3 minutes without adding any water. Check if the rice is cooked, if not, then cook for another 3 minutes and keep checking.

Meanwhile, in a pan, heat coconut milk, add sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir until dissolved. If using Pandunas leave, add it to the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes to let it infuse into the sauce. When the rice is cooked, pour prepared coconut cream over rice. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes in a warm place.









Friday, February 13, 2009

Sneek a peek for Valentine's

~We will be at the market Saturday for Valentine's and I will have lots of special things for the big day
...my undies will be priced special for "The day of lovely Panties!!" The singles will be 12, usually 15... and the Tanks and undy sets will be 22, usually 30
~I also made a few extra scrappy stuffed hearts


....and a handful of Handmade Valentine cards.
~I just love this duo the heart uses a pocket from a pearl snap shirt for a back pocket.
....It would make a great little bed pillow to keep your "security items" stashed in.


~Speaking of my scrappy pillows This blog post was featured in the latest Carnival at craft critique...Thanks Craft critique, the carnival is chock full of fabulous Valentine links!

~Well, I sure hope to see some of you locals down at the Farmers Market this weekend !

"Looks like it will be a glorious day to share with your Valentine – and what better place to do so than at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market? You’ll find the very best selections of locally grown vegetables and fruits, as well as your choice of pasture-raised beef, bison, pork, chicken, eggs and cheese. Flintrock Farm is bringing strawberries weekly. Edi is making chocolate covered strawberries in addition to her truffles; Blue House Flower Farm will be bringing some of their gorgeous bouquets; Rasmey’s Garden is bringing blooming Gerber daisies and citrus trees; and there will be many other Valentine surprises." from sunset Valley newsletter