New Tenant

We hung up a second birdhouse when we kept finding one persistent birds nest blown out almost every day. (this years has been the windiest year ever)

We were hoping they would move in, either she finally has, or there is a new mama birdie on the block.



 

This nest hangs out on our front porch, and I took pictures from inside the house.

Hope she enjoys her new digs!

We plan to build some houses this year and have more hung up for next spring...wonder how many we will have move in next year. :)

Loving Spring

To me the best part of Spring is the baby birds. Last Christmas my grandson picked out this adorable owl bird house, and surprisingly it doesn't scare the birds. So we have a family nested all snuggly inside....yesterday I noticed the first baby peeping out.

 

Eyes not even open yet, tiny tuft of hair and a big huge beak....cutest baby bird I've ever seen!!! ;)

 

This hangs outside my kitchen window so I love that I can watch without disturbing them. There looks to be 3 babies in there, can tell more when they get bigger.

What is your favorite thing about Spring?



Meatless Monday - Bean and Cheese Burritos

I am always looking for something easy to make ahead for my work lunches, and I decided bean burritos would be a quick and easy meal.

I bought a can of pinto beans and a can of black beans. I put them in my food processor along with half a can of green chili's, salsa and some onions leftover from BBQ night.



 

I mixed it all up...

...and put in tortillas along with some cheese.

I then wrapped them in foil, then put into a freezer Ziploc and into the freezer. Now I can just grab one out the night before and take to lunch. I will warm up in the microwave and then toast a bit in the toaster oven. If I was home I would probably put in the oven around 350-400 for about 10 minutes.

For around $5 I made 7 burros. Now next time I think I will switch it up by only blending half of each of the beans, and use the remaining half as whole beans in the mix...and also I hope to remember to add the can of corn I had also bought and left sitting unopened on the counter.

Thank You Cards

I had some down time recently, so I thought it was the perfect time to get caught up on making some thank you cards.

 

This first one is a regular sized card using Stampin' Up Vintage Verses set.

 

Then another regular sized "Hello" card using the Feeling Sentimental stamp set. (CASEd from Stamper Dog)

The rest are all 3x3 cards that I like to send with my online orders. (All CASEd from Dawns Stamping Thoughts Youtube videos, LOVE her stuff!!)

Which is your favorite?

Soy Milk Foaming Bath

Hmmm, such a rough job I have. I must try every bath and body product I make before I sell it...my choice, and not a bad choice at all. ;) I figure as sensitive as my skin is, if I can pass the test then I know it is very gentle on other skin types. So here we have a new product alert....a foaming bath powder with soy milk.
As you can see it foams up from the very start.

There is also pink kaolin clay in there, which adds a pretty hue to your tub water.

The tub is filled and as you can see it foamed up quite a bit. I put 2 capfuls in the tub.

As it drains it does leave some clay residue, but....

A cup of water swished at the end left  the tub clean with no scrubbing.

My skin really liked this, it didnt leave me irritated or red in any way. This is comes in a glass jar and sells in the store for $12.00.

The Price of Freedom is Written on the Wall

We got an amazing chance to see the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. It is the largest traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall which is located in Washington D.C.


This 80% replica made its way to our small town of Cottonwood, and is 1 of 2 Arizona locations for 2013.

The Hubs and I went with our youngest grandson Orion.

The names with a plus sign are people who didnt make it home and their bodies were never recovered. Those who were killed and their bodies made it home have a diamond shape after their name.

I thankfully don't know anyone on the wall, but a friend has a family member on there so we looked up their wall location in the book and etched the name with a pencil over paper.

You can find more information about the wall and its schedule at the American Veterans Traveling Tribute website. Its an amazing thing to see and a great opportunity for people who cant make it to DC to see the original.

Soap Pot - Satsuma Guava

Todays soaping pot is ready for Satsuma Guava....A tropical fruit paradise with green fruity notes of guava, lemon and orange with an addition of sweet jasmine and neroli.  

Usually I just swirl yellow and orange together...this time I tried something new, layering the yellow and orange and then swirling the colors into the rest of the uncolored soap and pouring it on top of the layers.

It came out pretty good, although I wish I had tamped my mold down to make the layers more straight, but I am quite happy with it and of course it smells wonderfully fruity.