.be the good.

Kate gave me this sign for Christmas…which I LOVE! I finally got it hung in my office this week – thanks to Jennifer, Grayson, & Tim!

It’s a nice change from the old barn window I have had in that spot since I moved into my office 7 years ago.

The other thing I think is pretty cool about it is that a distant cousin of mine (Sackmann side) made it! 

Hopefully it’s inspiring to the students that come into my office each day!

.march bom.

Here’s the March BOM, which barely made it in March! I have been busy making these

for Melissa’s wedding, so my BOM was put on the back burner. I finally had time yesterday. This one looks complicated, but it’s not too hard. I love the colors!

 

I had a good day in the craft room yesterday – a great way to kick off Spring Break!

I made this changing pad and matching burp rags for Baby J…now that those are done, he’s welcome to make his arrival anytime! :)

Also, I’ve had this fabric cut out and on my counter since September when Janelle asked me to make her a bag for her birthday. I got freaked out by the pleats and set it aside…until Tara messaged the other day and said they were coming to our house. I decided I’d better hurry up and get the bag done!

This was a complicated pattern – definitely a one and done pattern. Not happening again! Take a look folks…this is the only time you’ll see this pattern on my blog!

    

It has lots of pockets and is big enough for a notebook to go inside, per Janelle’s request! It’s the Sunday Sling pattern by Amy Butler.

So – three things checked off my list yesterday! I’d call that a success!

.chex crack.

Jessica made this deliciousness for our girls night last week – and I knew it would be perfect to take to Student Led Cnferences this week. It is so good – dangerously good! I made a double batch and the two bowls I brought to school were licked clean!

Ingredients

• 8 cups Chocolate Chex® cereal
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, MINI size
• 1 cup MINIATURE marshmallows
• 1/2 cup caramel bits (found by the chocolate chips in the baking aisle -- or chop up regular caramels)
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 cup MILK chocolate baking chips (or more if you're a huge chocolate fan)
• 1/2 cup vanilla (white) chocolate baking chips
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil.
2. In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-sized pieces.
3. Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn't melt.) Evenly sprinkle mini peanut butter cups candy and miniature marshmallows over Chex mixture.
4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over snack. Microwave the milk chocolate baking chips next, starting with 20-seconds and stirring, then at 20 second intervals until the mixture is completely smooth (microwave temps vary, so watch the chocolate and stir frequently until it's of drizzling consistency). Drizzle over the snack mixture. Then microwave the vanilla (white) baking chips in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth, and drizzle that over the snack mixture. (Note: The vanilla and milk chocolate chips should not need cream added.) Quickly sprinkle coarse salt over all while candy drizzles are still wet.
5. Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly covered container. Perfect for gift giving!

.brenna beth.

Little Miss Brenna Beth Wieseler was born on February 7th – isn’t she precious?!

The weekend before she was born, her momma and I along with 30 of our closest friends were at the Craft Retreat! I pieced this quilt on Friday night at the retreat, right under Amy’s nose. She had no idea that it was for the baby!

I finally got it quilted and bound about a month later…just in time for my first time meeting Brenna!

This fabric is a favorite of Amy’s and mine – such cute little farm animals and red polka dots. Who doesn’t love red polka dots?!  

.miss connell.

Miss Connell was last night…formally known as Distinguished Young Women…formally formally known as Junior Miss! It is still really hard for me to go to Junior Miss after the traumatic end to the Koch era of Junior Miss. I like to go to support my students – they amaze me and make me so proud!

This year, Mom & I went to dinner at Michael Jay’s with Kate & Karen before the program. It’s always great to spend time with them – but even better to enjoy time with them to take my mind off of things! Love that Kate!

 

Sommer is the outgoing Junior Miss. She is a rockstar and inspires me everyday with her hard work ethic, pushing herself to go the extra mile, and for getting great grades while applying for a million scholarships while being a part time farm hand. That girl can do work! Then she can turn around and be a beautiful Junior Miss!

 

The 2013 Miss Connell and finalists – some of my favorite junior girls!

Kyle Booker, Carly Knight, Karigan Eppich, and Kaitlynn Kleinbach

.painted nails.

Nick, Kate, and Kamryn came over on Wednesday for dinner and then Kate & I sorted all of Melissa’s Pampered Chef order from her Bridal Shower!

Of course, no visit from Kamryn is complete until we polish her finger and toenails!

 

I taught her to curl her fingers and blow on them to help dry the polish. It’s so dang adorable when she does it!

 

Mom came home after a while and Kamryn was so excited! We asked her, who is here? and she said, “Probably Connie.” LOL – so funny!

      

I just love that girl!

.beta st. patrick’s day party.

We had our Beta St. Patrick’s Day party tonight! It is always a fun night with delicious food!

We had the Shamrock Stomp – musical chairs with shamrocks – that is always a competitive crowd pleaser!

 

Lots of green – just the way Jessica likes it!

 

It's always a fun night to be with the Beta Babes!

.new car!.

After taking the Durango to get worked on a few times – water pump, thermostat, something else that I can’t remember, and finally the fuel pump – I decided it was time to let it go. I loved that car, so it was hard to say goodbye!

 

I looked online for a while – and every time we went to the west side, I’d check out all the cars on the freeway! It’s the perfect place to look for what you like!! I liked the look of the Toyota 4Runner and decided that is what I wanted. I found one on autotrader.com in Everett – it was a great price with lots of the extras I wanted and only 19,000 miles! We made the drive to Everett on Sunday and came home with this!

 

I never thought I’d get a red car – but it’s not red….it’s Salsa! :)

I am loving it so far and just want to drive it all over! So far, it’s just been around Connell, but the weather has been so nice, I’ve been able to use the sunroof!

.melissa’s puyallup shower.

Mom, Grandma, and I went to Puyallup on Friday night to spend the weekend getting ready for the weekend and attending Melissa’s Puyallup shower.

We got to have breakfast with Andrea on Saturday morning – it had been a few years since we had seen each other!

Saturday afternoon was the shower, held at the clubhouse of Melissa & Ryan’s condo unit.

 

 

These ladies threw the shower for Melissa -
Tianna, Windy, Michelle, Melissa, Debbie, and Britny.

Here are lots of pictures from the fun afternoon!

  

 

    

 

 

Melissa’s teaching parter, Mollie, made her bow bouquet!

 

After the shower, we went to Ryan’s parents and organized all the reception table decorations, put pictures in frames, and did a whole bunch of other prep work for the wedding!

On Sunday we went to Redmond to look for a Rehearsal dress – and had success!

Great weekend and got a lot accomplished! It’s almost here!