Monday, March 30, 2009

just a quickie

Hey, just a quick post to say hi.as you may or maynot know I'm keeping tabs on my favorite bloggers with my blkberry and some of your blogs won't let me leave comments!! Glad to see everyone is doing well.......lisa, sounds like your having a great vacation,I'm not sure that I could live in florida with all those "friends" hangin around!... Candace, you go girl!! I've been looking at myself these past weeks and really need to do something to lose about 30lbs!! I really want to get a bike, there are some nice paved bike trails by our house...Tammy, your ring turned out great! I'm sure your very proud of it!.... Carolyn, your new spinner necklace is gorgeous! I love the figure out chain!....Mai, only one more wk till you get your machine back,I'm sure you have all sorts of designs and projects lined up! I can't wait to see them! Well I think that raps it up... oh and I really love jamies new enamel pieces so pretty.. I made some cute new earrings recently but with no camera or computer I will have to post them later!! I did order some great custom business cards from moo.com and can't wait to get them and start giving them out!! Till next time!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

viruses suck

Hi- my computer has a yucky virus so I will be trying to post from my blackberry/moms computer. Taking mine in to get fixed and won't have it back for a couple wks. Still no luck with the hot water tank, looks like we will have to replace it. Found a nice one a homedepot for 400.00,hopefully just replacing the damn thing will be the answer, we've tried everything else! That's what's happening at the potter house! Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I'm thinking of Lisa and wishing I was somewhere sunny and warm too!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hot Water!!

Hi folks,

well another day, another disaster.... for about a yr now we have been fighting with our propane hot water heater.. ugg homeownership isn't always as fun as we think it will be.... we don't have a home improvement nest egg hidden under our mattress like some people do, so it's out of our monthly pocket.... just getting back into the groove of things after 3wks no work/no income.. this is really a trial of our patience and I just want it to be over....and to take a hot shower!!!!! so my wonderful and resourceful husband has done everything imaginable to figure this delimma out.. the pilot light just won't stay lit.. or it will for a few months/days then go out... that's why we have been fighting this for a yr..now it won't even light, I guess we are going to have to just bite the bullet and get a whole new hot water heater!!! can't we just get an electric one?? PLEASE!!! an element is so much easier...

In other news... my mom had gotten a 4yr warranty with her camera, yeah mom, so it will be getting fixed!!!! I should have pics back up again soon!

Now I'm going to watch Transporter 3, Jason Statham is such a hottie and has an accent to boot!! YUM!!!! I will feel better seeing muscles and back kicks!!!

see ya!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

April showers bring May flowers!!

I'm sitting here on a rainy spring day thinking about how the rain washes away the old and dirty.. and renews us, and listening to my blog playlist.. lots of different music. Not alot to report.. I made 3 really nice prs of earrings yesterday.. Im tempted to try to take some photos with my blackberry.... and I have a few new ideas going round in my head.. I need to sketch them out.. maybe I will do that today. Boy, Im going to have a huge bill when I can finally do some ordering.. Im running out of EVERYTHING, need some wire, jumprings.. I just can't make them as nice as I can buy them.. I have tried.. I even have one of those little jumpring makers... maybe I just need more practice. practice makes perfect... haha.

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN TWILIGHT AND WANT TO, READ WITH CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I watched Twilight last night.. my daughter really liked it.. I didn't think it was horrible but I was disappointed.. first... books will always be better with the exception of Pratical Magic, I liked the movie better than the book..... These are my thoughts on the movie and only my thoughts....needed to be longer.. I felt like there wasn't really a firm story line..one minute your here then there.... the special effects were a total let down.. I was expecting him to "glow" in the sun.. not look like they put a little sparkly paint on him... I'm not really into the girl that plays bella.. her attitude on screen seems so different from the book.... and maybe I'm losing it but for some reason I thought edward had an accent..maybe in Real life he does and the rain is seeping into my brain giving me brain rot...lol.. anyway those are my thoughts and Im sure there are people who disagree.. The movie left me feeling like I wanted to go and reread the book again cause they left out stuff..

Well I hope you all will bear with me until I can get a new camera.. I feel like my blog is soooooooo boring and really missing something.. so please bear with me and I will have pics up again soon!!

thanks for visiting,
sherice

Saturday, March 21, 2009

lazy saturday

Hey peoples...

what's going on!!

not a lot here.. just getting ready to make the best homemade spaghetti sauce out of my grandmothers recipe book,.. cool story, so my grandmother and her 2 sisters collaborated and published a cookbook called The three sisters cookbook.. My grandmother is a seventh day adventist and they most times don't eat any meat.. so being introduced to that at a young age I love the veggie recipes.. sham burgers are sooo good.. there not really meat so it's a "sham" anyway.. they only published enough books for their familys!! Me being the kind person I am, loaned my book to a lady I was in hair school with, she also happened to be 7th day adventist so I said " hey I got this great cookbook loaded with veggie recipes, would you like to borrow it!!" she said yes and that's the last I ever saw of it.. well my grandmother was going through some old books and stumbled upon an extra copy she had made for a wife of one of my aunts stepson's.. well they are no longer married and for some reason the cookbook was never sent.. so my grandmother sent it to me with a note inside.. "gaurd this with your life, I do not have anymore".

The cookbook has meat recipes also.. if you are wondering her sisters aren't vegitariens. (don't think I spelled that right) I use this cookbook all the time.. I can't live without it! and I love the fact that it is something that will be handed down for generations..
I'm making the homemade sauce because I'm making meatball subs for dinna... yes that's right homemade meatballs too.. have you guessed that pretty much everything is homemade around my house... :) yummy!!!

I'm so bummed my camera is broken, I have all these great photo ideas running like a t.v. screen in my head.. you know the saying you always want what you cannot have.. well it's like that when you lose or break something.. never think about it when it is accesible right!!!! UGGGG....

In other news.... my etsy team.....eastern washington etsy team is having the first ever team contest.. please go to this website http://ewateam.blogspot.com and vote for your favorite entry.. I would of course love for you all to vote for me, but they have some really nice things, so vote for your fave cause on march 27th voting ends. The winning item is givin to a lucky voter!!!! so please take a few quick moments and go vote!!!

what else was I wanting to say... oh, sorry I won't have any more pics up for a while. shouldn't be to long I really am going to need to replace my camera soon.. My sister, bless her, the camera she lent me SUCKED!! so that's out!!

have a great lazy weekend!!
me

Friday, March 20, 2009

feeling springy!!

Hey Hey,

what do you think of the changes I've made to my blog??

So today I'm feeling springy... looking forward to some heavy duty spring cleaning.. I want to open the windows and doors and let the spring air breeze through and take the old winter, stagnant air out !!!

today the temp is upper 50's almost hitting 60 and boy it is nice... winter is behind us... if you read my blog then you know that lately I have been in a slump.. and so have a few other blogs I follow.. well, I sense a turning point..

so now my husband has more work than he can do, (3 schools) which is always the case in any contractor trade.. it seems when it's slow it's dead and when it's busy you can never catch up!!! so I'm thankful that the slow slump is finally taking a turn for the better.. 3 wks of hardly any work has takin it's toll when your a one income family and I feel that it has a lot to do with my blah mood..

my daughter broke my camera yesterday, so my sis has lent me her very old digital camera and I will see how the pics are once I take a few shots..

I'm in the middle of making the cutest pair of amethyst and hemitite star earrings.. and hoping this borrowed camera will get me by till I can purchase a new one..( although my mom is going to see about getting the broken one fixed.. it is technically hers.. keeping fingers crossed)

I hope all are feeling the renewed outlook that spring can bring and that your days are full of sunshine and bunnies...

bye!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Taekwondo

Hi all,


well today I'm not feeling that much better, but trying to think positive...
I just have that feeling like everything is going along smoothly, and then you've been rearended by a mack truck!! Everything happens all at once...So I made some yummy healthy dessert...my rustic raspberry and blueberry crustada!


before...... after

















Jessica and her broken arm.... getting some puppy love!


















new hard cast for 5wks








I haven't been to my martial arts class since Dec... It is something that I have been doing for 6yrs come this May and I so enjoy it.. but life tends to take over and I just can't get there.. and it is also very hard... mental, physically, and emotionally...so taking a well deserved break is needed sometimes..

For any of you that do not know what Taekwondo is.. It is a martial art that originates in Korea.. My sabumnim (master in korean) is from korea and didn't move to the states until he was an adult.. meaning he teaches his class as they do in Korea... HARDCORE!!! no loving words or warm hugs to keep you going in times of doubt... instead.. pushups and "no pain, no gain" attitude.... "why do you do this?" you are asking....

Taekwondo has changed my life and myself... it has given me the confidence to know that I can do anything I set my mind to.. Mental strength goes so much further than physical strength..I love the way I feel after class when those endorphines are running wild, knowing that I will be sore the next day... going home and taking a hot shower and feel physically exhausted because I have just done atleast 200 kicks in a 50 min class, and countless pushups. I go to class and kick, punch, and yell (kihap), I miss the feel of my dobak (uniform) and the ritual of tieing my belt and feeling proud because I earned it with hard work! the sweat rolling off my forehead, the sound of cracking wood on testing nights, speaking my korean commands, the way the kicking pad feels when you've landed a spinning hook kick perfectly, that feeling that nobody can stop me..

It is not only physical.. mentally it keeps your brain on it's toes.. we learn about korean culture, korean language, sparring, self-defense, kicking patterns (sa bong chucks) and forms (poomse)... plus it has helped build my sons character and self esteem also... there is a bit of fun as well.. breaking boards is a real self esteem booster and doing nunchucks is also fun.. never thought I would be using 2 nunchucks like the great Bruce Lee but with practice anything is possible..

my son and I have one more belt level to complete before we can test for our Black Belts which is a huge undertaking... so study time is upon us and we really need to dig deep and get er done!!

So yes, I will be heading back to class and feeling the pain!!! ahhh I can't wait.. here are a few pics!!



Master Kim... 7th Dan (4th dan is a master title)

Mr. Justin our main instructor.. Breaking Bricks for his 3rd dan test..






2007, coreys silver medal for poomse at tournament




















Our last belt test.... new Red/Black belts.... next is Bo dan, and then Black Belt....











My back kick















Waiting for class to start















Our last belt test we had to break two 1 inch boards with a spinning back kick..
think it took me 5 trys !















so... hope you enjoyed a little peek into one of the things I love most, Taekwondo!

until next time!

BTW... won't be posting anymore pics any time soon, jess dropped my camera this morning and it broke... what next!!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Blah Blah.....Blah

Hi cyber world...

not a lot today.. but feeling sorry for myself...

the weather is yucky AGAIN, we are broke as a joke.. my husband is a self-employed commercial floor installer so work this mo. has been scarce...plus today is our 2nd wedding anniversary.. yes we were married on St.Pattys day.. no special reason why it just happened to be the most convienent saturday that yr.. we have been together for 15 yrs. so our wedding was a "lets just do it" kind of thing. Our 2 kids, his mom, the pastor and us were the only ones there. It was nice...the worst thing is our daughter fell rollerskating last night and broke her arm, OUCH!! and we have no insurance!! so today is my pity party and Im really trying to think about how many others are worse off than I am..

grateful for...

a warm house to sleep in

food in our tummies

family and friends

air to breath...

I guess Im grateful for the bare minimums!! :)

tomarrow will be brighter... Jessica will be getting her purple/pink cast on!

Happy St. Patricks day!
see ya for now!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

eawa team contest!!

Hey out there,

Hope all is well on this sunday... here it is raining, windy and cold....


On march 20th voting begins http://www.ewateam.blogspot.com/ !! we are having our first ever team contest.. spring is the theme.. so anyone who visits my blog please go and vote for your favorite item..voting begins at 5pm. You will then be entered to win the winning item.. voting is open for 1 wk only so don't forget!!! This is my entry... a bracelet and earrings set.















Freshwater coin pearls and opalite faceted rounds!


I can't wait until next sat when Twilight comes out on DVD... think I might reread the book again.. such a great series.. I didn't understand all the Twilight hoopla until I finally picked up the books and couldn't put it down.... Please write more Stephanie!!!!



My favorite sandwich and favorite beer... a yummy cucumber, pepperjack, avocado sandwich, sprouts would have been an improvement but you work with what you got right! and an ice cold refreshing apricot ale... my little slice of heaven in spokane!




















I'm also having a special in my shop until April 15th.... buy any item and get my Itty bitty paddle earrings for FREE!!! So go check it out!!















I hope everyone's sunday is a relaxing as mine is turning out to be....

signing off.... for now!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Cupcakes and Kids

Not a lot to say today, so I thought I would post a few pictures.....

Yummy chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream ch. frosting and some choc. frosting















My Greatest Creations!!! Jessica 10 yrs



















Corey 14 yrs
















Bye!!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

sun is shining





Howdy!!







here's my stew recipe.... a lovely lady (mona) asked for it...

when I cook, sometimes I just throw things in and eyeball stuff.. so bear with me.. and you can always add or change anything, depending on amount your feeding or if you want more liquid or less.. I like more because I make dumplings and I like to have a little liquid even when my dumpling is in the bowl... This is the way I do it....

get a pkg or 2 of stew meat... I always place some flour in a ziplock throw in the stew meat and coat.. in lrg, deep pan brown meat on all sides with some olive oil.. remove meat and set aside..add 1 lrg onion, chopped to your liking (I like mine fairly small) you may need to add a bit more oil, saute.. you can always skip this step and just put them in with all the other cut veggies, but there is something about sauteing onions, so that's the way I do it....

add your meat back in to pan with onions...add about 3 cups any red wine you like to drink and 3 cups of beef broth... add 1 pkg beef stew seasoning mix and stir.. I know it is alot of liquid but as the stew cooks it will reduce and thicken.. like I said before I like a bit more liquid so if you don't add less...

put on a lid and let simmer for a couple hrs... stirring from time to time.. just a note.. I don't follow the recipe on the back of the beef stew seasoning mix but you can if you want!

about 1 hr before I want to eat, I cut up carrots & potatoes, you can add whatever else you like in stew and through them in.. about 1o mins before I add my dumplings I put in a can of drained gr. beans... after about 10 mins.. I add my dumplings on top of simmering stew.. and always sprinkle a little herbs de province on top of dumplings when I get them in the pot.. leave the lid off for about 10mins and then place lid on for 10 mins.. whalla... stew is done!!


Okay now the dumpling recipe is just good ol bisquick it's on the box!! and depending on how long my stew has been simmering I might add more liquid.. like I said I tend to eyeball everything.. so make it once and see what you like or don't!! ENJOY!!!



My lastest creation!! my daughter really loved the blue goldstones so I got them to make something for her... they paired up nicely with the blue chalcedony!!
posting it in my shop today so there are a few more pics you can check out there!!!
























the weather is supposed to warm up into the 50's by tues.. which will be great, it has been in the teens this wk and even 8 degrees one night this week, BRRRRR!!!!!

so 50's will seem like summer.. hopefully this was our last bout of winter and spring will be here soon!! a girl can dream right??


later gators.. see ya on the flip side!! :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

permanent winter?

Yesterday it snowed AGAIN.... about 4 in., I think Spokane has beaten the all time record for snowfall in one winter season. So I made some warm comforting stew and dumplings! one of my favorite meals, I always use red wine and beef stock, never water.. if you have not used red wine for stew you are missing out TRY IT!!















I made some new earrings today.. I will post them soon..


















I received my cabochons from a nice shop, HarnessedEarth.etsy.com I can'twait to be able to use them!!



















last but not least this is where are puppy goes when she is out of water!!






and marley says HI!!!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

warm cookies in my tummy!!

Hi,

hope everyone is doing well!

As for me, I have warm choco chip cookies in the oven and soon to be in my tummy.. so I'm doing great..

I made a ooey, gooey. cheesy lasagne for dinner last night, yummy comfort food for the cold days of not quite spring.. I should have taken a photo.... I finished my pieces I'm entering in my etsy team contest.. eastern washington team, the theme is spring.. what do you think??


I lightened the top photo with picnik which looks better...
14mm purple freshwater pearls w/ 4mm faceted opalites.. I guess I could have gone more pastels in colors because I think thats what people think of with spring, but these are just beautiful together and I really like it..


bye for now :)

Friday, March 6, 2009

Hi all,


Posting this blog link for a chance at this great giveaway!!



Isn't this ring great!!! so sweet I would just love to win!!!!
so hurry and check out her blog and get a chance to win....

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Played nice with my torch

Hey, Hey.....

How's it?? I have been doing daily stuff since my last post... cleaned our livingrm carpets, with a new puppers it really needed it badly.. going to hopefully get hardwood through out, we have it in our dining rm which is half of the livingroom.. my husband is a floor installer by trade so it works out perfectly, it's just he works 24/7 and finding time to do fixes on our own home is the last priority. Meanwhile, I sit home and it drives me CRAZY!!!!! He did say he has some materials to do our dining and kitchen. Yeah!! my kitchen has this ugly dark green and white square lanolium floor and it reminds me of a pizza parlor.. Not what I would have picked but thats the great thing about owning, you can change it..

anywho.... I played with my torch a couple days ago.. don't have materials yet to do any soldering hopefully next week, I did order 2 cabs from a nice shop on etsy.. when I get them I will post them.. I did make just a few balled headpins.. I used 20, 24, & 26 gauges of wire.. then pickled, steelwool cleaned them and polished them with my polishing cloth... anyone have a better way to do this please share... I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of trial and error

Very rustic and organic balls, with 20 guage s/s.. I read that fine silver or argentium not sure I spelled right make better balls, meaning not divets in the balls.... is this true?? maybe I should try it when I want a perfect ball.. I tend to learn more towards the rustic organic stuff.. but I'm sure there will be those moments I want something perfect. anyway I thought they were nice for my very first time..




found a great little dremel 300 series at walmart.. hoping to get it soon. DO NOT want to be hand filing, polishing for long.. and Im not ready for a flexshaft yet.. maybe in a yr.. well see

this is what it was like at my house this morning.....when will it end??? the weather has been so nice the last couple of days... was hoping spring had sprung.. :(


roxy new lab puppy loved it. She was running around trying to catch the HUGE snowflakes in her mouth, she is a crack up!!



Monday, March 2, 2009

tagged by candace



This was my fourth pic in my picture files..... a long time ago probly 2 yrs. corey and I getting high red belts and jessica getting her yellow belt....

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Another sunday




Another rainy gloomy sunday...




Glad my kids are going back to school, with the weather so crummy nobody wants to be outside except roxy our 10wk old bl. lab puppy. She is very sweet and loving, and has a great personality but marley boston terrier has always been so well behaved even from the git go when we first go him.. so she has been a real trial.... We weren't expecting to get another dog and we found her cold and lost 4wks ago on the side of the road what was I to do?? we put up flyers and no one claimed her so we kept her.. she will be a good dog but can we fast forward 4 yrs??? LOL




I went to the Rings N Things bead show today and was unimpressed.. maybe because I haven't ever been before but I was expecting more.. they did have more beads than at the regular showroom but I was looking for cabochons and they had NONE!! I guess they only have strung beads...




Im looking forward to getting my pkg hopfully tomarrow from monsterslayer.com, ordered some stuff to begin torching pickle, flux, tweezers, soldering block. I'm starting out small, making some balled headpins, and will be getting some metal next week to start practicing.. if anyone has words of wisdom I would love to hear them..since I am going to teach myself.. If I can find a class in my area I will take it but so far cannot find one...




I did post some new earrings yesterday on etsy.. so checkem out!