Feline Friday

As a child, did you sleep with a teddy bear?

Apparently Lily enjoys the feline equivalent. I recently found her, ready for a nap, clutching some of her favorite toys in those dear little white paws. In fact, there were so many toys in her basket that it surely made for a lumpy bed.

But she didn't seem to mind. Even kitties need a little extra security now and then.

College Visits

With our daughter headed into her senior year (how did THAT possibly happen?), we've been looking into colleges. She's interested in percussion/music education, so our search targeted some of the best percussion programs in the central states.

- click to enlarge -

This month, we visited University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and Southern Methodist University, all in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She also attended a one-week percussion academy at Indiana University in Bloomington. In addition, we toured Drake University in Des Moines, where she currently takes lessons. Each school requires an audition for placement into the percussion program, so this is only the beginning of a long process.

One interesting side note is that all three Texas schools have big rock climbing walls in their student recreation areas. And we heard that there was a bit of friendly Texas competition as to which school could build the tallest one (UNT). On another note, I think the award for the cutest mascot has to go to the Texas Christian Horned Frog. If you click on the collage, you'll see the rock walls, the horned frog, and a few other highlights of our visits!

Big opportunities, big choices lie ahead. I'm completely excited about what the future holds for her!

Tabby Tuesday

OH TEH LAZY DAIS OV SUMMR...RELAXIN ON TEH DECK
WIF WARM BREEZEZ CARESIN MAH FURS...

Recipe: Krispy S'mores

It's once again time for us to start preparing for the annual state fair! My daughter will be entering a couple of baked items in the food competition again this year. She's been competing in the food division (the largest food competition anywhere in the country!) for a few years now and has amassed quite a number of ribbons.

(In case anyone is wondering, NO, Lily will not be entering the Household Pet Cat Show this year. Our cat show days are OVER!)

Anyway...In looking at photos from last year's competition, I realized I failed to post the recipe for one of my daughter's entries, Krispy S'mores. This recipe is definitely NOT on anyone's fitness plan ;-) but it is certainly tasty! Daughter received a third place ribbon in the s'mores category for this recipe last year.

Krispy S’mores

10 honey graham crackers

8 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

6 Tbsp. butter or margarine

10 oz. miniature marshmallows

13 oz. Cocoa Pebbles cereal

12 large marshmallows, halved

Line a 13x9in pan with foil; grease the bottom and sides. Place grahams in single layer on bottom, cutting grahams to completely fill pan. Coarsely crush remaining grahams; set aside. Microwave chocolate and 2 Tbsp. butter in microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes; stir until chocolate is melted. Spread ½ of the chocolate in thin layer over grahams. Microwave remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in 4-quart microwavable bowl on HIGH 45 seconds or until melted. Add miniature marshmallows; toss to coat. Microwave 1-1/2 minutes until marshmallows are completely melted, stirring after 45 seconds. Add cereal; mix well. Press gently over chocolate-coated grahams to form even layer. Top with marshmallow halves, cut-side down, and crushed grahams. Drizzle with remaining chocolate. Cool; cut into squares.

Makes 2 dozen.

Feline Friday: Who's in Charge Here?

Isn't the one sitting at the head of the table considered the most powerful or important? Or perhaps the "head of the family"?

Well, at our house, it appears that we are sharing power. Both kitties have taken to napping on the dining room chairs, one at each "head" of the table.



And this is very appropriate, because they are equally powerful.

Equally important.

And equally loved!

This is Why I Plant Flowers

I plant flowers because I think they're beautiful and I enjoy tending to them. I love the color they add to the yard.

But I also plant flowers so that I can cut them and take them inside.

A little bouquet in the bathroom...

Another one in the kitchen. Nothing fancy. But they smell glorious and make me happy.

Layout: Remedy Drive concert

Here's a layout about the Remedy Drive concert my daughter attended last fall. Remedy Drive is a contemporary rock band that played at our church last fall.

I am happy that she took a camera along to the concert. You can tell that she's the daughter of a scrapbooker, because she took a picture of the screen with the band's name, plus a variety of distance and close photos. *sigh* I must be raising her right! Because of the lighting, the pictures aren't super but by cutting them down, they work as a whole and don't look bad at all.

You can see the blank area is ready for her journaling. She's out of town for the week and when she gets home, she'll be happy to see that I have a stack of layouts ready for her stories!

Tabby Tuesday: Where's Lily?

Layout: Parade

Here's a layout I finished up recently showing pictures of our drumline participating in a parade earlier this summer.



Our fall marching band show has a James Bond theme, so our drumline proudly sported their new 007 "You Only Drum Once" shirts for this occasion.

As soon as I can catch my daughter, I'll have her add the journaling!

Layout: Coldplay

All layouts are inspected by Lily for quality control purposes ;-)

I've been working on a few of my daughter's layouts so decided to take a break and put together one for for me. I don't usually make pages for concerts, but I had a few cell phone pictures and an article from the newspaper, so I knew this Coldplay layout would go together very quickly.

Even though the cell phone pics are pretty bad, they don't look all that bad when grouped in a collage! For the opposite page, I wrote some quick journaling, formatted the online article and photos I had saved, then printed it all together on a sheet of photo paper. Super easy!

Layout: Praise Team

Well, I was super-productive with my scrapbooking in June but in July, my productivity has taken a nosedive. I've been busy with so many other projects that there hasn't been time for personal scrapbooking. Going forward, I have to do a better job with that or I will not finish my albums in time for graduation next May!

One thing that helps a LOT is having my daughter write journaling for pages I put together. I love having her perspective represented in our albums and, in years to come, she'll be glad she took the time to record her personal memories. Click on the layout to read her journaling.

Special note to Ki Memories fans: Yes, that is a TINY strip of Ki striped paper! That particular paper is one of my very favorites.

Feline Friday: Lily's New Friend

Lily spent a couple of hours getting to know her new friend, Mrs. Moth, through the window screen. (Click on the photo to enlarge!)

Mrs. Moth, however, began to reconsider their relationship after her belly was nearly skewered by Lily's razor-sharp claw. She flew off into the night sky, never to be seen again.