.png)
So in addition to Dela’s Scrapbook, this is now home to my Home and Hobbies blog too. For those of you who have been following my blogging for a while, it will be something like what “DelaLane at Home” used to be – a place where I blog food, crafts and family stuff that isn’t necessarily all about Adela. I’ve missed having that outlet. But it became too time-consuming the last time I attempted it. It was almost like another part-time job. That’s not cool. I’m not looking for another time-suck, but I do want to preserve some family memories in addition to all the cool stuff Adela does.
Looking back, I feel like I’ve gotten some clarity. The blogging got away from me because I started doing it for other people. That is no longer my motivation. I don’t want to be another one of the millions of mom-bloggers out there. There are plenty good ones I follow, so I’m definitely not saying it’s a bad thing. But it turned out to be a bad thing for me. It wasted a lot of my time. But instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water, I’ve reevaluated and realized how sad I am that I no longer have access to a lot of my food blogs and especially my yarn craft blogs. Remember how I did that whole baby-safe Christmas tree for Adela with knit and crochet ornaments last year? That was like a 6-month project that I commemorated in blogs, and now I don’t have access to any of it anymore. And I miss some of the recipe blogs I put together too. I would like to be able to reference that kind of stuff so that I can make things again. (I may go back and try to recreate some of those posts. Jury’s still out on that.) I’m treating this more like a journal/scrapbook now, a scrapbook that friends and family are welcome to read as well. But I’m not looking for blogger fame and I’m not going to make myself post something new every week or follow any silly rules like that. It’s going to be for the purpose of digitally scrapbooking things I want to remember about our family life.
And all that boring clarification? It’s mostly for me. I know what my goal is now. It’ll be easier to stay on track.
Sooooo, all that being said – in my Home & Hobbies Scrapbook I might occasionally post photography things, craft things, cooking and baking things. And then sometimes I’ll just do a hodge podge post under the title of a “Daily Life” post. Sometimes there are photos that capture something I may want to remember, but I don’t necessarily need a whole post to share it. So maybe every month or 2 I’ll throw all those photos in a post and jot a few things down to help us remember what was going on in our lives at that time. That’s the plan anyway. We’ll see how it goes. Clear as mud.
Here are a few Daily Life tidbits from Fall 2011.
August 15, 2011 – Craig holding the last monthly payment to the folks we bought the Southern California territory from. It took us 4 years to pay it off and it hurt like the dickens sending that check off every month. But we made it. I am so incredibly proud of my hard-working, dedicated, amiable, smooth-talking salesman husband and the business and career he has been building for the past 10 years. He is so smart and talented and it feels so good to watch him get to call this territory fully his own. We also acquired Arizona this year which is another huge project he is undertaking. This man can do anything. He amazes me.
September 12, 2011 – I let Pinterest suck my time away for a few weeks there. Moderating it a little bit more now and trying to make sure the time I spend on there is resulting in productivity. This it the first dinner recipe I tried from an idea I got off of Pinterest. I would make it again, so here’s the recipe.
Southwest Chicken Chili Mac…Skillet Style
1 cup finely chopped white onion
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet peppers (or bell peppers)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1o ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes, mild
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup corn, fresh or canned
1/2 cup white beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dry Ranch seasoning from packet
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cool water to stop cooking. Heat oil in 9 inch deep cast iron skillet. Add onions and peppers, cook stirring until softened about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken, tomatoes, broth, corn, beans, 1 cup wagon wheel pasta, chili powder, cumin, Ranch seasoning and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.
September 11, 2011 – Surprised Craig with an at-home date night after Adela went to sleep. Playstation, snacks and movies on the futon matress on the living room floor. We don’t have a TV in our bedroom by choice, so it’s a rare treat to cuddle in bed and watch a movie. It’s almost as good as a fort.
September 18, 2011 – I adore artichoke dip. I mean the cheesy kind you heat up and eat on tortilla chips or crusty bread. I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest and stuffed it inside of some baby portabello mushrooms. Heavenly goodness.Have to remember that stuffing mushrooms is always a good idea. It seems like I usually end up eating it when Craig is out of town on business. He needs 3 food groups in every meal. This wouldn’t count for him. For me, it was the perfect dinner.
September 16, 2011 – An update on my afghan project. This will eventually go in our bedroom on the foot of our bed, a King-sized bed. So, I have a ways to go, but the progress is steady. Here’s the link. Hopefully it stays active for a while. The whole pattern is too long to re-post. This one is easy enough that I could probably figure it out without a pattern again.
October 10, 2011 – Craig bought me the Joby Gorillapod for my birthday! 🙂 So cool that I dont’ have to carry around my huge tripod now if I think I might want to do some selfies with the fam. Works perfect with the remote I bought a couple months ago. This is the first time I tried out the combo (using the handle of my kitchen refrigerator for an anchor) and the resulting photo of Craig and I sorting through a week’s worth of mail after we got back from Oceanside.
September 18, 2011 – I started putting together a craft corner in my bedroom. My craft supplies have been stored in about 5 different spots around the house. Now it’s almost all in one place. I hung a pair of shelves my Dad made when I was a child to match the antique desk that I currently have in my bedroom. They had been sitting in the garage for years because I’m not a knick knack person. Pinterest gave me the idea to use it to organize and display my yarn. As a lover of functionality all I can say is, “YAY!” No longer do I have to dig through a huge tupperware of messiness. I can see all that I have at a glance. And it’s right by my craft desk and sewing machine. Since then, I’ve added hooks to the underside of the lowest shelf where I hang craft bags containing the materials for whatever current projects I’m working on. I am LOVING that. It’s so convenient. Right now I have one bag loaded with all the yarn for a blanket I’m crocheting, another loaded with the paper and tools I need to prep our Thanksgiving Tree this year, and another contains some fabric and supplies for a Tot School Activity bin I’m working on for Adela. It’s so nice to be able to just grab a bag and get to work on something rather than having to track down individual items.
October 17, 2011 – A photo biz investment, a Shutter Buddies frog, handmade from a crafter on Etsy. It squeaks, wiggles, giggles and waves. I can remember a few times something like this might have helped me out with a little one. Glad it’s in my bag of tricks now.