Squirrel Chatter

Long Post about a Toothbrush. Brace Yourselves. :)

2009-07-12T06:22:00.001-04:00

Matt and I had our 6 month dental cleaning yesterday morning - yeah, I know, Saturday mornings and dental appts don't really mesh - but I would rather get up early on a Saturday than use any more of my vacation time at work to have my teeth poked at.

I do love my dentist - A New Smile, they are so friendly and chipper - gentle with the pokers and make you feel good about your dental hygiene.

We've been to a few bad ones over the years - ones who shove $3,000 dental plans in your face to fix minor surface staining - dentists who insisted we were going to get periodontist disease - made me feel like I was some sort of sugar huffing, non-teeth brushing scum bag - yeah, will NEVER go back to them needless to say. LOL.

Our appts went good - got a clean slate of dental health! Though I do always brush too hard which causes AWFUL sensitive areas on my teeth. Been looking into sonic rechargeable toothbrushes for awhile now - they are clinically proven to be 1,000 times more effective than a regular toothbrush AND it turns off if you brush too hard.

I don't even realize that I am brushing too hard - it must be ingrained now because I just don't notice that I am doing it. I think my subconscience associates brushing hard with getting my teeth REALLY clean. Who knows?

Anyways, got to chatting it up with the lady cleaning my teeth - you know, the kind of chatting that requires just minimal throaty uh-huh's and oh's and mmm hmm's from the patient and the occassional brief sentence or two after you've been allowed to spit into the suction thing. But anyways, we got to talking because she hit a sensitive spot with the metal thing and I just about cried and she mentioned how I might brush too hard and I garbled a yes and pointed at the Sonicare Toothbrush display that was conveniently located near my head and managed to mumble how we had been looking at them.

She said they sold them right there at the office, about how it was a good investment and about how we would only have to buy one because they have color coded little brush heads that snap off and get cleaned every time in a UV sanitizer.

This got me thinking...because anything from the dentist I can put on our medical card...can't do that at Meijer...and about how we ALMOST bought each other one last year for Christmas....so yeah, we came home with one. :)

Couldn't go and use it right away though because we had that new waxy fluoride that has to sit all unpleasant-like on your teeth for at least 5 hours before you brush. And when I talked about going home and using it, the lady that was checking us out said not to use it until tomorrow...sigh. Must be pretty powerful if it would clean off all the fluoride they just put on.

Wow, long post about a tooth brush. LOL. Sorry guys, but, yeah, I am THAT jazzed up about it!

Dazzling Daylilies

2009-07-11T13:24:00.004-04:00

When we first moved into our house, my Great Grandma Peggy dug up some of her day lilies for us to plant - and they are truely one of my favorite flowers in the yard. Most of the blooms look like the the one above - peachy, pink with bright yellow, orange centers and frilly edged petals.

But the ones below that just bloomed this morning are from the same bunch of day lilies but look so much pinker! I am glad I went out this morning shooting pics befoe my dentist appt because now it is all crummy and raining outside. :(

This might be my new desktop image!! Gorgeous triple blooms!

Outdoor Dining Necessity

2009-07-09T22:09:00.002-04:00

Been looking for one of these nifty food screens for awhile now that we have our outdoor table up and going for the most part. Hubby is making benches and we still need an umbrella...but we've already used it twice to eat outside! With outdoor dining tho, comes bugs...which is where wanting these cut little food covers comes in.

I SWEAR I saw them a few weeks ago at Walmart or somewhere, but OF COURSE now that I want some I can't find them anywhere.

I did manage to snag one for $2 at my favorite antique store - isn't it festive?!

If you all know where to find more please, please, PULEEZE let me know!!

Web Finds Wednesday!

2009-07-08T06:21:00.001-04:00

Ring-Tailed Lemur Crochet Pattern

A Yummy Fruit Salad Recipe to Try - From Hooray!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie - from Closet Cooking

Asleep Under My Desk - funny new blog I found to read

DIY Table Top Biosphere

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T06:56:00.000-04:00

Went through all my archived pictures on Facebook and couldn't find a one that was 4th themed. My husband and I just really haven't done anything really festive for the fourth since 2005 when we watched the fireworks downtown while seated on the steps of the Indiana State Museum, eating our picnic and listening to some band play. Didn't have any digital camera back then I guess, or not with us anyway. I do have really great black and white pics I took from that night with my 35mm. LOL! Oh goodness.

So, I decided to post a pic of my favorite kind of fireworks! The kind that bloom in beautiful colors in my garden! :)

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

The Beginnings of a Bookworm

2009-07-03T22:30:00.005-04:00

I have always been a bookworm and I think one of the big reasons, in addition to loving parents who read to us all the time, was the many great books I grew up around, many of which have take up residence on a little bookshelf in our new home. Looking back through them all though, there was one or two I knew I had loved but that I couldn't find. Of course, I vowed to find copies of these dear books and add them to our ever-growing collection.

Well, today while I was out perusing my favorite antique store guess what I found? TWO of my missing books! The Story about Ping and Seashells of the World!

I am not sure where the Ping book originally came from the seashell book (if my memory serves me correct) was in an old box of seashells that the owner of the house my parent's bought in Chalmers gave to us kids. I would take each seashell out and look it up in the book...ah, memories!

One of my favorite scenes out of the book!

Ok, Now What?

2009-07-03T18:08:00.000-04:00

I've got squash coming out my ears now.

Anyone have any good recipes? I've got nada.

Yay, I Can Crochet!

2009-07-02T06:02:00.000-04:00

Yup, I figured out how to crochet! Two granny squares down, 68 more to go if I want to make a blanket! LOL! :)

Web Finds Wednesday!

2009-07-01T06:28:00.005-04:00

Zucchini and Potato Tortilla Recipe

Grilled Red Potato Bundles

Watermelon & Mint Ice Cubes

A Cool Trick to Make your Own Cucumber Water or to Serve a Summer Punch

Crochet Stash Basket Pattern

DIY Recycled Cabinet Door Turned Memo Board

Giant Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

Orange Thai Beef Skewers & Orzo with Peppers & Asparagus

Crochet Ripple Afghan

BLINDY: Who will you nominate?

2009-06-30T06:39:00.001-04:00

The 2009 BLINDY Awards will recognize Indiana's best blogs, bloggers, and social media magnates for their efforts across a spectrum of categories. Help put your favorite blogs & bloggers in the hoosier spotlight by filling out the nomination form. Do you think something's missing? Propose your own category at the end of the form.

Oh, this sounds like fun!!! :)

The 2009 BLINDY Awards will take place Saturday, August 15th during BlogINDIANA's Saturday Social Media Summit. Tickets for the summit are available for $49 - reserve your seat today.

Stella & Dot

2009-06-29T07:15:00.001-04:00

Had my Stella and Dot Party this weekend! Lots of margarita cupcakes and even a few margaritas were consumed and lots of fun was had! :) Thanks to everyone who made it!

I'm not closing out my party until the end of this week - so go on over and take a looksy at this fabulous new jewerly line and place any orders by Friday! Make sure to enter in your host name when you order (yours truly!).

Colorful Crochet

2009-06-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

I dabble in knitting and enjoy it, I really do. But one thing that is a little annoying about knitting are the all the needles you need. There are different sizes, then short ones and long ones and then round ones if you want to knit things like sweaters and blankets. And round needles are a tad expensive especially when you need a whole set of sizes. So, I've stuck pretty much to small projects like scarfs and things.

But I have been itching to make an afghan. So, I've convinced myself to learn to crochet. If I can figure out knitting, I can figure crocheting out too. Heck I even have two crochet needles already from my knitting stash.

Here's my recent inspiration!

Granny Square Joining Tutorial - photo from Carina's Craft Blog

I am going to start with this I think - a colorful granny square afghan.

Crochet Stash Basket - photo from the Purl Bee

And I need ones of these handy baskets.

Crochet Ripple Afghan - photo from Attic24

And this would be fun too!!

What to Do With My Herbs: Bee Balm

2009-06-28T14:45:00.003-04:00

I love the idea of having herbs growing in my garden, but with my obvious lack of culinary knowledge I find myself at odds when it comes to actually USING the herbs I have.

So, this ho-hum Sunday afternoon, whilst the husband is off at work being the marvelous, motivating manager he is, I've devoted myself to researching what exactly I can do with my herbs. Exciting, huh? ;)

First lets start with Bee Balm, one of my favoritest (thanks, Sarah, for classifying this as a perfectly fine verb! ;)) herbs. I love the look of the plant - the leaves are gorgeous, the flowers are quirky and colorful and the scent!! Oh I love running my hands over the stems and then cupping them over my nose - such a lovely smell! Not mention that the hummingbirds and bees swoon with this plant!

Summer Punch
Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup Bee balm leaves
1/2 cup raspberries
2 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup mint leaves (any variety)
1 47 ounce can chilled pineapple juice
3 liters of ginger ale

In a sauce pan dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice, over low heat. Add the bee balm and raspberries. Bring to a simmer, stir to break up the raspberries. When the sugar is dissolved, strain leaves and berries out of the liquid. Add cranberry juice and mint, stirring well. Chill up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, pour into a punch bowl and add pineapple juice, ice and ginger ale.

Bee Balm Iced Tea
Ingredients:

1/2 cup Bee Balm flowers and leaves
8 cups boiling water

Pour the boiling water over the Bee Balm. Cover and steep until cool, about an hour. Strain and discard flowers. You can sweeten with sugar if desired. Chill until ready to use and serve over ice.

Summer Tea Blend
Ingredients:

3 tbsp. dried chamomile flowers
1 tbsp. dried bee balm leaves
2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tbsp. apple or pineapple mint leaves

Mix all the dried herbs together in a jar. Use 2 tsp. of the mix per cup of tea. Steep for 5 minutes and strain. Sweeten with honey or sugar if you wish.

From http://oldfashionedliving.com/beebalm2.html

Uses for Bee Balm - from Creative Homemaking

Tea
This is a wonderful tea herb. To make a cup of tea, simply place tablespoon of fresh or one teaspoon of dried Bee Balm leaves and/or flowers in a tea strainer or tea spoon and pour one cup of boiling water over it. Allow it to steep for ten minutes and bring the tea out. Sweeten if you wish and enjoy.

Culinary
Chop the leaves and flowers and add to fruit salads for extra flavor. Garnish any type of salad with the leaves and flowers.

Here's more helpful links!

Bee Balm Recipes/Ideas from Gardens Ablaze

Glidden Paint Giveaway!

2009-06-26T07:00:00.003-04:00

One thing we really haven't done since we moved in a little over 2 years ago is paint anywhere in the house. Our walls are an off-white and the trim is painted white. It is pretty and I don't mind it, plus I am a little worried about painting because our walls have that textured look to them. Not sure if I have to do anything special when I want to paint them a new color.

Anyway, Glidden Paint is have a giveaway! Choose any interior color you want and they'll send you a free quart within 3-4 weeks! I picked Bittersweet Chocolate. I want to add an accent wall in this dark color somewhere in the house - maybe the living room or our bedroom. I also liked the Tropical Blue color. Hmm...is a quart enough to paint on small wall?? Now I am kinda excited about the idea!

Here are some of the terms & conditions:

This promotional offer is only available on glidden.com or by calling 1-800-GLIDDEN
Offer good through July 2, 2009 or while supplies last
One quart per household
Quart is Eggshell finish
Continental U.S. only
No P.O. boxes
No military APO or FPO addresses
Valid e-mail address required

Weekend in Review

2009-06-25T06:54:00.000-04:00

Last weekend went by in a kind of blur! So many things going on! Friday night, I made it out to the Indy Wine & Brew Fest with Jessie and sampled many an interesting drink. I found I particularly enjoy Moscato wines and that I still don't care for beer too much. Though the Abita Strawberry wasn't bad and anything Leinenkugel is more than tolerable. :)

Saturday we woke up early and headed to our friend Tim & Jessie's neck of the woods and took part in the Julian Avenue Garage Sale and the Celebrate Irvington festivities!

Found ourselves more garage sale goodies!

And ate lunch at Jockamo's Pizza - which is a must try! I could make an entire dinner of just the breadsticks and be happy - they were sooo good!

The breadpudding was FANTASTIC!

Pizza was pretty amazing as well - we had the Margarita pizza - but may try a different kind the next time we stop in.

Saturday night I made it up to Lafayette for an old friend of mine's bridal shower where I was the reigning champion of the "Stuff in Your Purse" shower game! Booya! LOL, sadly though my purse contained everything on the list except Keds/panty hose, a tampon, a $50 dollar bill and red lipstick. Got points for my nail clippers, paper clip, library card, 1984 penny, 5 different business cards, Victoria Secret card, calendar and perfume. :)

Sunday most of my family came down to Indy for my baptism! :) Yay on both accounts! More about that in a later post!

Web Finds Wednesday!

2009-06-24T06:53:00.001-04:00

How - To: Make a Library Tote from Craftzine.com

Quilted Grocery Tube Tutorial from Moda Bakeshop

Garden Update!

2009-06-23T18:45:00.002-04:00

The garden has grown another foot! The white trellis behind the cucumbers and squash is slowly disappearing! You can also use Lola for size comparison! ;)

Going to have lots of summer squash! Anyone have any good recipes? I have NO CLUE what to do with summer squash. No. clue.

A baby watermelon!!

Pass the Peas Please!

2009-06-18T06:26:00.001-04:00

There's an over abundance in our garden right now - peas!! I normally just eat them raw, but I may have to try to cook some up or give some away since I have so many right now! Though there is a certain white chihuahua I know who'd love to help just eat 'em up! It is so funny - but she really likes peas! Silly pup!

Anyone have a favorite recipe that include peas?

Web Finds Wednesday!

2009-06-17T06:43:00.008-04:00

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Recipe from Joy the Baker (yum!!)

Tequila Lemonade from the Food Network

Double Chocolate Cookies

Flavor of Farmer's Market Recipes

2009 Summer Indiana Festival List

Happy Hour: Pink Torpedos

Fabric Flower Pattern from Wise Craft

Tutorial: Foundation Single Crochet - new thing I want to learn next!

Free Motion Quilting Video by Red Barn and Company - OH, so that is what free motion quilting is - literally making the squiggles yourself on the sewing machine - oh that is awesome!!

My Loves

2009-06-16T06:15:00.000-04:00

Matthew and Lola - two of my loves! :)

Weekend Warrior Post Edition: Indieana Handicraft Exchange

2009-06-15T06:58:00.001-04:00

Between two closes and a mid I managed to drag my tired, slightly grouchy husband out to the Harrison Center (ahh...memories from Sculpture class) and check out the Indieana Handicraft Exchange! I love, love LOVE the logo and the whole play on words with Indieana. Marvelous!

Not to mention the tons and tons of insanely creative people!!

Some of my favorite booths were:

Cute Cooties - adorable bibs!

Herb & Ginger - loved the mango tea!

Owly Shadow Puppets - Need I say more?!

Sycamore Street Press - Loved the alphabet prints!

You can see a list of all vendors and learn more info here at the Indieana Handicraft Exchange website - www.indieanahandicraftexchange.com.

A Globe to Gaze Upon

2009-06-14T16:14:00.004-04:00

Please pardon the blurry pic! But look what we found garage saling yesterday! The perfect addition to our work-in-progress room for future (way in the distance) wee-ones! A Replogle Treasury Globe for $2! After venturing through the "How old is your globe?" section of the Replogle website I was able to determine that it is a 1997 - not too bad. A few little discrepancies, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo still being named Zaire and one or two other changes even I wasn't fully aware of on our globe.

Looks magnificent next to our little bookshelf - also a recent garage sale find - though I think I want to paint it white eventually - for now it gets Matt and I's childhood books out of the storage tubs and into plain sight. My modern vintage room is becoming a reality!

Early June Garden Update 2009

2009-06-12T06:55:00.000-04:00

The gardens are all growing marvelously! Here's our potato, squash, watermelon, garlic, cucumber and cantaloupe garden. Yeah, I MIGHT have pushed the envelope on how much I planted here - but it IS called square foot gardening for a reason, right? :) There's less weeds that is for sure! I didn't know the potato plants grew so big - this is the first time I've ever planted them.

Here's a glimpse of all three gardens and you can even see the rhubarb patch growing behind the strawberry patch in the background!

Yay for peas!! Look how many there are!!

Baubles in a Box

2009-06-11T06:11:00.000-04:00

Been cleaning out our spare rooms and closets going through things for our garage sale. While going through the many totes of things and came across all these little bits and pieces that had come from a miscellaneous box from my childhood bedroom.

I put them all into an old jewerly box (bought at a garage sales years ago) and it looked all so pretty I just had to take a pic!

So many little things that grab at the heart...charms from a matching set "Best Friends" necklace from my childhood friend Corinna, who is getting married here towards the end of the year!! So excited for her!! A picture of my father from 5th grade - lol! :) Little rocks, coins, jewelry and other little bits and baubles.

A little old empty bottle of perfume from my great-grandparents' basement I think - or a garage sale - memory is fuzzy on that one. And skeleton keys - love them!

These are all keepers, definitely not in the garage sale, nope, they are getting up right up with all my arrowheads.

Web Finds Wednesday!

2009-06-09T20:23:00.005-04:00

4 cute animal knitted toy patterns

Don the Dillo Knit Pattern

Watermelon Lemonade Recipe

Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie