Pinterest Playtime

So, let's face it, I'm addicted to Pinterest. 

Yes.

Addicted.

No shame, no regret, just pure, happy, crafty addiction. 

Out of that addiction have emerged some pretty terrific projects (and several incredibly successful recipes). Here are the very first of my Pinterest success stories:

Can I just tell you, I found it heart breaking when I went to Michael's Crafts looking for jute, and the people at the craft store didn't know what jute was. Seriously?!? 

(Non crafters, don't feel bad. You aren't SUPPOSED to know. But crafty experts should know that it's crafting rope!)

I really love how these vases turned out. That's a pretty fab Goodwill upcycle, if I do say so myself.

 The other project I worked on with my cousin Katie. I want to get another photo with me actually wearing it, because I think it's hard to picture here. But, it's basically a braided scarf. Pretty cool, especially for someone who doesn't really crochet well and can't knit at all. 

Also - this was made in probably 2 hours while also watching a movie and chatting. My understanding is that crocheting and knitting take much....much...longer. So, cheers to the best scarf an unskilled, impatient person could hope to make!

Don't worry...there are many other Pinterest posts to come. You can Pinterest stalk me HERE. 

Baby Swiss

My next adventure....heading to Switzerland County. Check out some of the incredibly beautiful scenery en route to the organic dairy farm...

There seemed to be no other cars on the road once I got closer to Vevay. 

Here's the dairy farm!

Mooooooooo

So, why did I come back from the Dominican Republic and then go hang out on an organic dairy farm? 

Answer is simple - 

I needed some Diana time! 

Highlights included seeing her baby boy, Ebenezer, for the very first time; spending time with one of my very best friends; and sampling some awesome Brickhouse Cheese. (Seriously, get the swiss. I don't even like swiss, but that cheese is GOOD!) 

You know those friends you have who you can tell anything at all, and they still love you? Yeah, Diana is one of those people for me. She just moved back from Florida and I'm so GLAD she's back in Hoosierville!

La Republica Dominicana

I spent two weeks of May in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. I was there for work...but you shouldn't feel too bad for me since I was staying here....

Despite the incredibly beautiful accommodations, we definitely worked hard! We saw hundreds of patients, and many, many dental patients as well. Click here if you want to know ALL the details about the number of patients we saw!

This is one of my favorite photo stories from the trip. Shawn (PA) was taking care of this sweet little girl, who had several bad cavities. She recommended that the little girl go see the dentist. The little girl had seen some dental patients earlier getting really bad teeth yanked. So, naturally, she was scared out of her wits. She was in tears when Shawn said "dentist," so Shawn tried to cheer her up by letting the girl listen to her heart beat with the stethoscope...

 ...and it totally did the trick! The little girl's face lit up, and she was soon calm enough to go see the dentist. Since her cavities were so bad and she was underweight, the dentist actually opted not to pull any teeth until she could see a specialist and make sure there weren't any other significant problems. 

There were so many adorable kiddos who came to clinic. This was the best "cheese!" of the trip, by far! (Seriously - how cute is that!?!?!?)

After 5 days of clinic, we spent a day being tourists in Monte Cristi, a town where basically no tourists come. So, we had a private boat tour of the mangroves and coast, and then enjoyed an afternoon on an island with literally no one else in sight. 

The views were breathtaking. 

Monte Cristi is a beautiful place with significant needs. It was so reassuring to be there and see this newest Timmy program growing. The needs are great, but the local physician, nurse and community health workers are eager to provide quality care, and were thrilled to be partnering with us. It was really an awesome opportunity, and I can't wait to go back and visit!

Bixby Struts his Stuff!

Bixby is strutting his stuff for the Humane Society. I think you'll like his profile message. hehe. He's such a gangsta.

Bixby's Profile

My name is Bixby Morris and I am named after Clive Bixby, the alter-ego of Phil Dunphy on Modern Family.  We're both smooth, charming, and great with the ladies. (They especially love my green neuter tat.) I will be participating in this race along with Marleau Garcia and all my Eagle Creek Bark Park pals. I'm strutting my stuff and raising money for all my puppy-amigos still in the shelter. I'm from the streets, so I know what it's like. I'm living the high life now, but I'll never forget where I'm from. To quote my good friend, J-Lo:

Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got
I'm still, I'm still Bixby from the block.
Used to have a little, now I have a lot.
No matter where I go, I know where I came from.

Please show your support!

Chontacuro

So, I spent about 12 days in January in Ecuador. I started in Quito (fun pictures coming later...I promise) and then went to Tena. I'm starting with this Tena feature story because it's a good one - a true Amazonian highlight. 

Please understand, I am an adventurous eater. At least, I think I am. And I feel I can claim that title without reservatino...because I ate a chontacuro.

This is me with the chontacuro in my hand (you can kind of see the edge of the little guy in the bottom center of the photo). Please note the look of sheer excitement (a.k.a. "no way I am really going to eat this thing") on my face. 

For those of you who are wondering..."What exactly IS a chontacuro?" Well, dear friends, I am so glad you asked. THIS (photo below) is a big yummy plate of chontacuros. (Disclaimer: I found this photo online. Only difference between these chontacuros and the one I ate is that mine wasn't on a skewer, it was in a bowl. But he looked exactly the same as these little dudes.)

These are in fact tree grubs - a very special delicacy in the Amazon region where I was visiting. They were served as a special treat. I can see you all now with your noses scrunched up thinking there is no way I actually ate that thing.

Oh...but I did.

And...it was actually pretty yummy. 

And...NO....it didn't taste like chicken at all. It was kind of a smoky, grilled flavor. A little chewier than I would have preferred (I have this thing about food textures), but I would honestly eat it again. 

P.S. If you ever have chance to eat a chontacuro, do not eat the head. It's crunchy...and not really in a good way. Just FYI. 

Wedding Photo Booth Fun

I officially think wedding photo booths are awesome. These are from November. (Look - it takes me a while to scan things! I've been busy...and I've got lots of reasons for that which will all be revealed in future blog posts. So, if I follow my current schedule, I will be able to tell you sometime in April why I have been so busy...but I digress.) 

Wedding photo booths = super geeky fun. Love. It.

It is important to note that Sophia and I put each of our copies together in the Chandra and Aaron wedding photo booth scrapbook such that we just kept going and going all down the page. You kind of lose our noses when you piece two of them together, but otherwise it looks pretty cool.

Then, there was the photo shoot with Mike where, I kid you not, the photo booth took 15 photos of us, and only managed to show these four. haha. Ladies and gentlemen, this right here is true love...at it's finest. 

Best Christmas Gift 2011

So, if you haven't figured out, I'm playing catch up on some fun blog posts. Don't worry, pictures of my Ecuadorian getaway are soon to come! But first, I have to share with you the absolute COOLEST Christmas gift I received this year. (My apologies to everyone else who gave me other really cool gifts, but I think you will have to agree that this one takes the cake!)

This year, my grandpa decided that being retired means making everyone's Christmas gifts. When you have a crazy aunt who knits ugly sweaters, homemade gifts are a BAD IDEA. But, when your grandpa rocks at carpentry and makes awesome things like a handcrafted stable for your Guatemalan nativity set, the result is INCREDIBLE! Check out these pics!

Please note that he hand-painted the stones and then added the stucco texture so that the stable looked authentically worn. SO COOL!

He even put in a light bulb so that they're illuminated! Isn't it beautiful! 

Gah! It makes me so happy!

Mike had apparently sent Grandpa exact measurements for all my nativity figures (which I purchased the summer I lived in Guatemala). So, the proportions are PERFECT! 

So, if you can't tell, I'm in love with this nativity scene. I think it looks perfect, and couldn't have been more excited by this handcrafted gift that I'll get to display for years and years and years to come!

Thanks, Grandpa!

Stupid Tree

We brought that lovely tree we cut down home, and trimmed it to a T! 

So pretty! We were excited about our first real tree, and our first Christmas in our new house. 

 Then, Sunday morning, Mike walked downstairs to let Bixby out, and found this....

Stupid tree had fallen over in the middle of the night. It stood for at least 8 hours, fully decorated, and then it just FELL OVER! To say the least, we were a bit perturbed. 

Putting the tree back up after it's tumble revealed that we were going to have to start over with the decorating. haha. The tree was fine and no ornaments broke, luckily. 

Mike ended up wiring the tree to the wall, so that round two of decorating would not end in the same disaster! Stupid tree.