#57: Redesign House Plan

So, I finally did it. We've had someone down to help me see what sorts of things we could do for our house that wouldn't be too costly, but would be the best bang in our floor plan change. And believe me... our floor plan NEEDS to change. We have a huge house, yet only two bedrooms (was three, but when we got married we turned two of the rooms into one... since all the bedrooms are on the third floor, which can be turned back into two again, but it will take a bit and I like our room the way it is).

Basically, we have an unusable basement, one room on our main floor that isn't used at all, and a floor plan that makes zero sense. So, I redid it (made it on Excel... according to scale and everything). I love the new floor plan. But I'm sure it will be costly.

My basement will have a utility room and a laundry room, as well as a PROPER bedroom (with a window, as right now the bedroom we have is not to code). The rest of the area will be finished and made into a den.

Our main floor will have a bedroom (and the possibility of two) and a nice big living room (with actual windows). The office will be the same, but have a different door placement (which honestly makes more sense in the long run), the bathroom will have a larger shower that actually works (the one in there now is too tiny to be useful), and the extra 'nothing' space in my entrance will become a larger closet than our current entrance closet is.

Now to get the money (somehow) and start working! Wooh... I can't wait! I'll have to take before and after pics of everything too... and show my floor plan somehow. I wonder what the best way would be to convert the excel file into a pdf?

101 Update

So... I have made loads of lists... accomplished them... and then realized that I haven't looked at my 101 list in awhile. I can't say I've really done anything on it in the last... oh... 2 or 3 months, but I have done some.

#14: Work on a puzzle together, is coming along v e r y s l o w l y. Really. I've pulled it out a few times in the last few weeks in the evening after the munchkin is in bed, and hubs doesn't want to do it until he sees me on the floor, working away at it. Then he joins me too. After all, TV is just TV, right?

#16: Have a sleepover by the TV, is something I'm planning on doing Christmas Eve night. Why? I love sleeping under the lights. The munchkin will go into her own bed (I don't think it would work for her to sleep with us at that point, and she will really need her sleep), but since I haven't been sleeping well anyway, I may as well not sleep well by the tree, looking at the pretty lights, right?

I got one more done on #18... go to 5 dairy meetings/seminars. I went to one of the meetings at the Dairy conference this year, so I have 4 down, and one to go on that one.

#30 is bringing baked goods to someone. I don't know if I want to count all those cookies I made as gifts... does that count? I mean, they were technically Christmas presents. I did count one... as it was for someone who wouldn't normally get anything from us, but otherwise I'm not sure it counts. So, I guess 3 down... 2 to go?

#35 is doing a colon cleanse for one month. There is a problem here. You cannot do a cleanse of any sort while pregnant or nursing, and by the time I finish nursing this little one baking inside me, my 101 list will have ended. So, any ideas what I could do as a health item? Something other than getting back to pre-pregnancy weight after this second pregnancy? Who'd have thought that I'd have 2 kids in the time that this 101 list occurs? I guess I could change it to 'tone up', but that is neither specific nor in a time line. Any ideas?

The hobbies list is not changing much... mainly because I'm focusing on other hobbies. I am considering making another book though... something completely different, and perhaps even free (for download anyway). A craft book. Any takers?

#57 is redesigning my main floor and basement. We've had a guy come in and look at everything, giving us ideas (mainly similar to my own). I need to draw them up yet and see what I think (and hubs, and other family) and what the cost may be. I think I may work on that very soon... perhaps before the new year even! I'm excited about changing my house!

So, that is my list in a nutshell. Yeah... nothing actually done this time around. Perhaps I'll get a few of the items we've been working on for ages actually complete in the next week or two... or maybe not. It IS Christmas, and I AM crazy, but not that crazy. Plus, I have a cold, and naps sound oh so tempting!

A Gathering and Project 365

So, I will post about the gathering... yet... but again, this is another Project 365 update overload!
Enjoy!

Day 196 - Dec 14
Baby M and her Grandma... eating Christmas cookies.


Day 197 - Dec 15
The doll Grandma brought over that day. It used to belong to her. Baby M isn't interested in her yet, but I'm sure she will be eventually.

Day 198 - Dec 16
The school concert we went to that evening... as a surprise to some friends kids of ours! It was fun!

Day 199 - Dec 17

Baby M enjoys stacking all her Little People on the little table on the couch.

Day 200 - Dec 18

This was our small group Christmas party, and all the little ones got gifts to open from the host family that week. We had a great time playing games and eating lots of good food!

Day 201 - Dec 19

On our way to another friend's Christmas Party after shopping at the mall in the city... I had to finish getting my husband's Christmas gift. Baby M was just thrilled to be at the mall where all the people were, haha.

Day 202 - Dec 20

The Christmas gathering on my dad's side of the family. It's a big one, and a lot of fun. My dad dressed up as Santa this year (because he had the beard for it and bought the Santa suit to make all his deliveries in this year... he drives a truck and delivers meat inner city). So, all the great-grandchildren of my grandma had their presents from her delivered by Santa. It was cute. Then there were the grandchildren and children (or, dad's siblings) that decided to sit on his lap and ask for presents while posing for photos. It was hilarious. I could perhaps share a few of those pics a bit later...

Anyway, the gathering was a hoot. My husband and I didn't participate in the ticket pull, so we didn't open any presents ourselves, but M got one from my grandma (a cute little doll... although she doesn't seem all that interested in dolls right now for some reason). We played games, ate food, sang songs, listened to a bit of the Christmas story, and had a great time. Here are only a couple of photos from the day... I may share more later.

My hubs got tired... this was all you could see of him.

Baby M eating trail mix from a cup.

Baby M and Niece A playing with the tree and fireplace. They were so cute together, dancing with the Christmas music, running around, and M was so talkative today! She was just go go go! It was hilarious!

Well, that is all I'll post for now, as my nose is running away again (I had to catch a cold Tuesday night... probably partially due to the varnish smell that came into the house when I opened the door after finishing my daughter's gift... it really wreaks havoc on the nose/throat). So, I'll post more later... especially since I'm DONE my LIST! WOO!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a time of Baking!

Christmas is a wonderful time of year! I love the holidays! Every year I look forward to spending time with family and friends, reading the Christmas story, going to gatherings, and all those other things that the season brings. One thing I manage to do every year is go crazy with baking. Yup. Christmas baking.

This year I had determined to make all (or almost all) of my gifts. I did a LOT of baking so I could give some of it away, as well as enjoy some of it for myself (and my husband enjoys it too, of course). Since I was doing so for giving, that meant I would want need to make many different things. And in a short amount of time (since I want things to be fresh). So, in one week, I baked 8 different items... I even pared down the list from what it was originally.

Yes... pared it DOWN... it was originally 10.

Gifts included Schoene Kuchen, Chocolate Crinkles, Unbaked Cookies, Spritz Cookies, Toffee, Peanut Butter Cups, and a gingerbread ornament as a decorative tag. Yes, those are links to the recipes, in case you want them. I also made whole wheat buns and banana nut bread, mainly for us. :) I will say it again, like I do every year... I don't want to make this many things in such a short amount of time ever again. I'm all baked out (and I have to bake cookies for a gathering this weekend, and an appetizer for our Bible Study Christmas get together tomorrow,and a square for the gathering next weekend). Crazy enough? Yeah. Good thing I enjoy baking (just not so crazy about cooking... how weird is that).

So, what are your favorite holiday baked goods? I'd have to say, the one I make EVERY year is the Schoene Kuchen... I hate icing the things, and they take forever to make (all that rolling and cutting and rolling and cutting, and then icing, it's a lot of work)... but they are a classic Christmas cookie, to me. My mom made them just about every year, and when I was little we'd help ice them and decorate them all on the table. We had sprinkles all over the floor (I think we were still sweeping them up two weeks later), and icing on our faces and hands, and it was just a lot of fun!

Toffee is another one of my favorites. I don't make it every year, but I make it at least every other year. It is so tasty! First time I made this recipe I didn't have a candy thermometer, so every couple of minutes I was dropping bits of the candy into a cup of cold water to see if it was the right stage. Lots of fun. Not anymore. I like my candy thermometer.

I also love making new recipes... every year. Why not? It's more fun to try something new! And what a time of year to do it!

So go ahead, leave a link to your fave Christmas recipe! Better yet, post it on your own blog, and link it back here! I won't bother with Mr. Linky... putting it in the comments is fine... right?

Woodworking

Woodworking is something I only seem to really do when Christmas comes... as I LOVE making gifts. So, here are a couple of the things that I made, and a very brief description of what I did to make it.

The above photo is of a picture shelf/ledge. I'm not sure what else to call it. Basically, it is a 4 foot board, 1x4 (or 3/4" by 3.5"), with a 3/4inch groove two inches from the back edge. Two inches being from the center of the groove. I routered the front bottom edge to make it look a little more like something other than just a board with a groove, and added some wood to the edges of the board groove to make the sides look flush. There will be chains added to the two front corners to make it look like it's being held up a bit by them. I will have to post a pic when my mom puts it up

This is a basket shelf. Again, what would you call this thing? I saw something like it in the Sears catalogue for $80, so I decided I could make it myself. The two sideboards are 1x12's, 31inches long. The dowels are placed 9 inches apart (so, about 1 inch from each side, since the boards are actually 11 1/4 inches wide). They are 32inches long, 1/2 inch dowels. You will need to base the length of the dowels (and the distance apart) on the baskets you are using. Also, the longer the dowels, the thicker you will need them to be. Since it was under 3', I figured 1/2 inch would be good enough. Plus, they aren't cheap. In total, this item would have cost me $40 to make ($10 for each side board, $10 for the dowels, and $10 for the baskets), but I had a 31" sideboard already in among all my wood.

I made handles for this thing using a 1" drill bit. The handles are centered 2 inches below the top of the boards (make your marks at 2.5 inches to allow room for the one inch drill bit), and are about 3-4 inches long (do what is more comfortable to you). To make them, drill your holes with a drill press, then get out your jigsaw and cut the rest. If you wish to use a scroll saw (less sanding, generally), remove the blade, and put it back in through one of the holes you drilled. When done, you'll have to remove the blade once again to get your board back, but to be honest, I prefer working with my scroll saw to my jig. My jigsaw is rather... pathetic. Not to mention, it has been borrowed out over a year ago and not returned yet. I really should get on that...

I routered the entire board (except the very bottom edge) with a 1/4 inch round. Including the handles. You'll need to sand a lot first, and then again afterwards. When you've marked and drilled your holes for the dowels (only drill about 1/2 way into the board... so 3/8 of an inch deep), glue them in. Wait overnight for the glue to dry completely, and then varnish it.

Anyway, there you have it. A brief description of the items. If I ever decide to make a craft book, I'll put this one in there with a much better description of how to make it. You know... like the tools and wood needed and such.