A spider and his web...

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Today I'm sharing a "dream catcher" that I made for my daughter.

She's away at college and had been having some bad dreams. She asked if I thought she should get a dream catcher. I told her to do whatever she needed to help herself through this time.

I had recently seen a very cool sun-catcher on Pinterest as well as a story about a spider on a Christmas tree.

I decided to combine the two ideas...along with being kind of a dream catcher. 

I used some thin wire, fishing line and an assortment of beads to create a spider.

I hung him from some fishing line attached to a stick which was hooked to a clear suction cup with some fishing line.

As I lay in bed one night worried about my daughter, words started streaming through my head. I knew what I wanted to say to her but needed it to have real meaning for her.

By morning I had come up with this...

"I may not be a dream catcher but I do spin a web.

I'll snare those bad dreams that are running through your head."

I wrapped it and gave it to her.

I don't know if she's just being kind and not filling me in or if it really worked but she hasn't texted me about a bad dream since I gave this to her.

A little doggie love!

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for the wife of one of my husband's co-workers.  She is battling an illness and has requested no "get well" cards.  Her husband said it was okay to send other type cards so this is what I created for her.

I know she (like me) is an absolute animal lover, especially dogs.  They have rescue dogs just like us.

I recently treated myself to some new Spellbinders dies.  I bought the 4 new speech bubble dies.  I know I'll get tons of use out of them.

Look how cute they are!

This is the inside...no get well here.  Just a simple thinking of you!

Okay, now it's "soapbox time."  As I said, both of my fur babies are rescue dogs.  You've heard the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure"?  Well that's how I look at it.  Both my lovies were found wandering the streets in Kentucky.  My Boomer was extremely malnourished and had some torn dew claws.  He required a few months of fostering to be brought up to a healthy weight so he could be adopted out.  My Hannah is a far sadder story.  She was picked up as a pup. (they think she was a mere few months old.)  She had parvo, Lyme disease, another tick borne disease I can't remember the name of, a bum back leg, she was missing large patches of fur, had a ruptured ear drum and had been shot with BB's.  *yes, this is all true*  She spent six months in foster care being rehabilitated before she could be offered for adoption.  She then spent a few more months in foster waiting for a forever home...until we saw her.  She was about a year old when we brought her home.  I'm happy to say that she's now Lyme free, Parvo free, all her fur has grown back except for a small part on her hip.  Good news it's covered by some longer fur so she literally has a "doggie comb over."  She still has one BB by her eye that if she's ever put under for anything we'll have them remove but since it doesn't bother her we're leaving it alone for now. Her bum leg does bother her from time to time but she runs like a thoroughbred racehorse most of the time.  My babies are the best of friends with each other and the very BEST companions I could ask for!  I encourage you all, if you're considering adding a pet to your home to think rescue.  Let's put those puppy mills out of business!

Boomer (with the spots) and Hannah

 (Dominick (my "little" man) and Makena...(my little girlie who is the photographer and the dogs' best friend)

Oh, and yes...I'm well aware I've gone WAY overboard with the sharing here.  It's just that these two (four) furry "little" creatures mean so much to me.

True love

        

      

I call this one "Ruff Life".  It doesn't begin to make up for what they went through but it's a start.

Love these two!  Can't you just hear their thoughts..."hey Ma!  How about another pupscicle!"  In case you're interested...pupscicles are little treats I make for them.  I take little meat scraps and any extra broth/fat type things I have lying around the kitchen and I freeze them in ice cube trays.  They love these little treats!  Not that they're opposed to a plain old ice cube.  Year 'round one of their favorite treats is just a simple ice cube. 

  

It baffles me to know that some people abuse and neglect living creatures that bring this sort of joy to your life!  (and look how in love they are)

Homemade Pot Stickers

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

Today I decided to share a recipe I found with you.  

My daughter Makena and I just LOVE asian food.  

One of her favorites is pot stickers.  We usually buy them but decided to challenge ourselves and make them this time.  It turned out that it was a lot easier than we thought...and oh so delicious!!

We even made the sauce to go with them.

We decided to make extras since we heard that they freeze well.

Now we have them ready to go for another night!

I found the recipe HERE but I'll post it for you below.

This was a great bonding time for my 14 year old daughter and I.  I wish we had more time to cook together!

Thank you to SPOON, FORK, BACON for the wonderful recipe!

Pot Stickers
Makes 30

Ingredients:
pork filling:
12 ounces ground pork
1 baby bok choy, diced (I couldn't find this so I used a regular bok choy and diced and sauteed it first.)
6 water chestnuts, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten

1 egg, lightly beaten
30 round wonton wrappers
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

choganjang:
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons gochujaru (Korean chili powder) (I didn't have this so I just added a TBSP. of sweet chili sauce...not sure if they're in any way compatible but the end result was delicious!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Place all filling ingredients into a bowl and mix together until well combined. Set aside.
2. Brush perimeter of a wonton wrapper with the remaining egg and fill center with 1 heaping tablespoon of pork filling. Seal and crimp together.
3. Set dumplings aside and repeat until all wrappers have been used.
4. Heat a large, heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil.
5. Add 5 to 6 pot stickers to pan and pan fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip pot stickers and continue to fry for 2 minutes.
6. Add 1 tablespoon water to the pan and cover for 1 minute or until the wonton wrappers have softened and steamed and the filling has finished cooking through.
7. Remove from heat and repeat until all pot stickers have been cooked. Serve immediately with choganjang.
8. Choganjang:Place all ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Serve with pot stickers.

My family is nutty!

Hello everyone!

Today I'm sharing another card for my raffle basket.  This one is a cute little birthday card for a family member.  I'm sure we all have families with a few NUTS!  If not...I've got enough for all of us!

All the dies are from Spellbinders.

Lucky for me my family all has a great sense of humor.   Any one of them would get a chuckle out of this card.