Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Nothing says "Halloween" to me more than the smell of pumpkin seeds roasting in the oven.

My fondest memories with my dad was gutting pumpkins and saving the seeds to eat.

He did a lot of special things like that.

Now I have passed that tradition onto my children.

Spiced Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

-raw pumpkin seeds

-few drizzles of olive oil

-few splashes of Worcestershire sauce

-a dash of salt

Mix everything together. Spread a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Put in the oven at 275 degrees for about an hour.

I used roughly 2 1/2 cups of seeds. The more seeds you have, you will need to add a bit more of the other stuff. I can't give you exact amounts, I just throw everything in there!

My kids were eating these by the handful!

It's such a nutritious treat, especially after a day scarfing down candy.

;)

Happy Halloween!



Ooops!

Shoot, I forgot to let everyone know that I received a clean bill of health from the doc!

Yay!

I've been covered in sawdust for the past 2 days on 2 seperate yet equally awesome projects.

They will both take me a while to finish, but I'll be sure to show you some mini-projects along the way!

And because no post is complete without a picture, I'll show my son's epic "Double Pick."

Awww. He was just a baby.

:'}

Charging Basket

So what did I do with this simple basket?

First, I went to Hobby Lobby to find this basket. They have a huge selection, and I knew I would find one with about the measurements of the shelf.

Wait until the flier says they are 50% off!

I used the template that came with the bronze grommets that I used.

I placed the template where I wanted it, then traced with a white paint marker (easier to see).

After cutting the basket with wire cutters (the basket was too thick for scissors), I glued on the grommets.

They need to be glued because a basket is obviously thicker than fabric, so the grommets won't snap together.

Don't skip this step, because the grommets help the basket from unraveling!

Put a power strip inside the basket....

....and thread the cord through the grommet.

Then I attached two ledgers on each side.

I screwed the wood from the outside of the basket with black screws to have them camouflaged a bit.

I did this because my basket would be in an enclosed space, so you won't be able to see the screws.

If you are having the basket sit out on a table, you will need to find a different way of securing the wood to the inside of the basket, unless you don't mind seeing the screws.

Wood glue might work, but it may ooze out of the basket....

Anyways, just make sure that the two wood ledgers are level with each other, and that you leave enough room for not only the power strip, but all the plug-ins that you will be adding!

Next, place your basket upside-down on a sheet of wood. I used a scrap 3/4" plywood that I had from a previous project. You can definitely use a thinner plywood!

Trace around it.

Now, if your basket is beveled, like mine (the bottom is smaller than the top), you're going to need to cut on the inside of your line, so that the wood fits further down the basket.

If you don't do this, the wood will sit on the top of your basket.

I had to take about an inch off all the sides.

After cutting that out, you will need to make several straight cuts along one side, to thread the cords through.

I accomplished this with my table saw, but a circular saw or jigsaw should do the trick. I made two passes per line to thicken up the line. You may have thick cords!

That's a bit hard to see. it seems as if the wood is the same color as my floor.

Ooops!

Anyways, put the power strip back in the basket and attach any charging cords that you may have.

I only put our cell phone chargers in there, but I have a bunch more for cameras/GPS's/etc.

Place the wood in the basket, thread the cords through the slits, attach your power strip to an outlet, plug in your gadgets, and your all set!

I will definitely be staining that wood.

I'm also thinking about adding tags to each cord so that we don't have to guess which one is the right cord. Masking tape wrapped around the cord should work fine!

You wouldn't even guess that's the function of this cute little basket on our entertainment center!

<3

I think this may be my favorite organizing project to date.

We used to plug our phones into an outlet by the countertops in the kitchen. That means gadgets would be in my way as I cooked. Not only that, but there was only 1 free plug, so it was a constant battle between my husband and me. I would have to unplug his charger, neatly wrap it up, stick it in the junk drawer, then plug mine in. He would unplug mine, throw it "God knows where," and plug his in.

Now I know where my charger is.

;)



Hubby's favorite organizational project to date is the magazine storage in the bathroom.

He's odd.

Haha!

Intermission

I generally like to keep this blog about inspiring my readers.

I like to jog your creativity.

Today isn't going to be one of those days.

For some of my readers that have been with me for a long time, you may remember that I had a scare about skin cancer.

Did you notice that I never did a follow-up?

My insurance was not covered by the dermatologist.

I had to find a place to would cover me.

That would be up in Marquette, Michigan.

I haven't been there in about 7 years, when my husband attended college at NMU.

It's probably nothing.

I'll probably laugh after this is all done.

Unfortunately, I'm an over-worrier.

In my head, I'm thinking:

"How will my family handle a serious medical condition?"

"How would my family fare if I die?"

"Would my husband remarry?"

"Would treatment hurt?"

"How much treatment am I willing to take on?"

"What would I look like with no hair?"

Hahaha, not good, to say in the least!

Okay, those aren't my ears. Those are the bald man's ears that I merged my photo with. Not that it justifies the horridness...

Anyways, as soon as I get the lab results back, I will be sure to let everyone know.

It's probably just an ugly mole. Okay, two ugly moles. My physician is probably just an over-worrier like me. I doubt it's anything serious.

I'm probably making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it makes me feel a little better not keeping my worries to myself.

;)

10 Projects in 10 Days Recap

It was really hard for me to power through this 10-in-10 challenge.

It seems like my boss knew I was going to have a life outside of work. More hours.

It seems like my professors knew, also. Harder exams.

BUT I don't think I did too poorly.

Let's recap:

1. Winterize the outside.

I got about half done. The cushions to the expensive Lloyd's wicker set are brought in and washed. The wicker still has to come down, though. We still haven't had a freeze here, but I shouldn't wait until it's too late.

I'll give myself 5% on this. (1/2 credit, lol)

2. Winterize the indoors.

Ick. I still haven't done it. Well....actually, I did fix our furnace's humidifier. They help make you feel warmer with the thermostat set lower.

Other than that.....nadda. No film on the windows yet. In the next few weeks I'm getting my entire house winterized. We are getting insulation in our attic and the living room addition. A new energy efficient door is being put on the kitchen. A bunch of windows are getting storm windows as well. One window is being replaced. (Our attic insulation is ceiling tiles! The old owners thought that would be adequate insulation....)

So maybe after the company comes over to do all that, I will put up the film.

I'll give myself 2% for the humidifier though.

3. Finish my Christmas wish list.

Done! Yay! I usually do a post about my Christmas list, but I'll put that up closer to Christmas. My in-laws just wanted to start Christmas shopping early, so I had to make up a list early.

10% (full credit! yay!)

4. Buy the kids' Halloween costumes.

Done!

Hailey's going as Snow White. She is OBSESSED with the Disney Princesses.

 

John is going as Mario.



Will originally wanted to be a crash test dummy. We couldn't find that at all. We ended up getting Chucky.

10%

5. Make a Halloween treat.

Done!

To check out how these are made, click here.

10% completed!

6. Clean both vehicles.

Done! Mine's getting pretty bad again, but that's because my van is the "family car." It gets dirty pretty fast. At one point, though, both the truck and van were sparkling clean!

10% completed

7. Sign the kids up for swimming lessons.

I'm still debating on whether or not to put Hailey in swimming lessons. I don't really think there's much more that a lifeguard can teach a baby that I wouldn't be able to. Just a waste of money, in my opinion. The boys, however, and all signed up and ready to go on November 2nd.

Not only that, but we are all signed up for a month family membership.

I love the YMCA. Hailey and I are actually going for a swim in about 2 hours =D

But now I'm sitting with two gym memberships....haha.

10% completed.

Can I give myself extra credit for the family membership? Just kidding ;)

8. Cut the trim for the insides of the kitchen cabinets.

Ooops. Completely forgot about that one. I didn't even buy the trim. Oh well.

0% completed

9. Finish taking the glue of the stairs.

I tried doing this every...single...day. Though I definitely made progress, it's still far from done.

I'll give myself 5% on that one.

10. Book a mother/daughter salon appointment.

Done! I booked two Express manicures and pedicures. That's the one where they do the works to you, haha. I couldn't get side-by-side ones until November 24th, though. It's going to be great having some mother-daughter time. They are so few are far between.   <3

10%

Let's tally that up......

72% completed.

Oh well.

I got more done than if I wouldn't have challenged myself, however.

So I think it was a success!

Thank you to Jenn for hosting this party!