It's the most wonderful time of the year

Greetings Bloggers!

I'm back, and with some DIY Projects to boot. My husband Kyle and I just bought and moved into a duplex in August. Much like our marriage, there have been bumps in the remodeling road, but we have learned to take everything in stride. We are learning as we go along, and there have been a lot of tears and a lot of laughs.

We recently adopted two kittens, Suki and Saya, and my sister's dog, Layla. The kittens have been acting as my sidekicks while Layla supervises from the sidelines and occasionally comes in for a closer look or to reward my hard work with licks.

Now, onto the real reason for the blog: the holiday season is one of my favorites, great deals on craft materials and lots of projects to consider making as gifts. Often too many that I get myself and my wallet into a bit of a tizzy.

Some of my recent projects have been decopaging a dresser, refinishing a coffee table, dining table and some frames. Projects to come include a magnet board for your recipes/wall, magnets, a peanut heart for the squirrels, and more!

Tomorrow will mark the completition of my DIY Decopage Dresser, and I hope to get you some pictures and instructions up.

For now, take a look at these great, inspirational DIY websites. My favorite is Beach Brights, a DIY Master Christy Bright runs the site and has fantastic ideas. If you follow her you have a chance to win a prize! I recently won What Shall We Do Today, a DIY book of 60 crafts to do with kids. My second DIY website pick is DIY Ideas, presented by Better Homes and Gardens (and publishes a magazine under a similar title). It doesn't appear that they update their site more than monthly, but you can find great projects by digging a little. You can also follow them on FaceBook.

Well bloggers, that's it for tonight, I'm hitting the proverbial hay.

Life and Love

Well, I'm very excited to say in 9 days, or a little less, that i'll be married! Seemed like 14 months ago this day would never come, and it seemed like a month ago I'd never be ready.

Most everything is set into place, only minor details like getting alterations complete, packed and everyone organized is left to do.

After our lovely honeymoon in Disneyland, we'll be traveling to Bellingham to participate in Kyle's best man's wedding, and spending a day in Seattle before we return "home".

We'll move into our new duplex off Shenandoah Ave about two weeks after the wedding, so anyone and everyone who wants to come help me clean and paint is welcome! In the mean time i'll be living out of a suitcase at Kyle's residence off Browning until its time for the real move.

Just a quick refresher for those who need it:

The ceremony and reception dinner will take place at Ron's Pond in Monmouth Oregon at 16300 Shady Ln. Rd, Monmouth 97361.

The ceremony will start about 630 pm to last about 20 minutes, followed by a reception line and dinner /dancing.


We are registered at target and in desperate need for just about everything and anything.

Graduation 2009

At 4:30 I heard the news from a Donkey Show news alert, fatal car accident along I5 southbound, just north of the exit we needed.

Mom and I were late heading out late, and decided to take the back roads to graduation, but according to the Albany Democrat Herald, the accident actually took place around 1:30 so there may have been no actual need for rerouting.

Regardless, we got to the fairgrounds on time, and graduation went as planned. Fortunately Rita Cavin, LBCC president is a fair woman, and didn't clog graduation full of boring speeches.

For me, this event was a proud moment, long awaited, and remembered for a long time.

My highschool graduation, is also one to be remembered forever, but not for the same reasons. It was 105 degrees that day in June, and we had to spend four hours practicing outside without breaks and refreshments. Those who needed to seek refuge from the heat were threatened with not being allowed to participate that evening.

By the time I got home around 12:30 that afternoon, the tentative plan to go to North Fork had been cancelled because I started throwing up. Heat stroke.

Many of the students had been showing signs of heat stroke (nausea, dizzyness) by the time graduation practice had wrapped up, but I seemed to be affected very negatively.

14 hours later I was still sick, but ready to pass out on our bathroom floor from utter exhaustion.

Fortunately, tonight was not like that night in 2003. I arrived on time, feeling good as I met up with fellow Commuter's and waited. Then waited some more until it was time to go outside to wait even longer. Then a time came where we filled the fairgrounds, listened to a few minor speeches, then went and smiled pretty for the camera.

Now I write to you as a 2009 graduate from LBCC with my Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer, Photography emphasis, and don't it feel good!

My goal is to keep up the blog for the summer, and to keep you updated as I check things off my long list, and to keep you refreshed in between with wacky news!

If God had a cell phone . . .

If God had a cell phone, some might wonder what he would do with it. Would he text? Would he use the tip calculator? More importantly would God tweet?!

According to McSweeny's Internet Tendency, they have figured out exactly what God would do- he would text the 10 Commandments according to Jamie Quatro.

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

2. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg's

4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl. ttyl, JHWH.

ps. wwjd?

Incase you cannot decipher, or are not familiar with the 10 Commandments here are the 10 Commandments according to AllAboutTruth.org:

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.' SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'

Sometimes, I have a need for a little cell phone humor when everyone is so consumed by technology, we forget how to write and communicate with one another.

Even the Pope is using YouTube and text messages to spread the Word, and I ponder to myself, what would God really think about technology!

Photo courtesy of Higherthings.Org

Sailor duck saves life.

Bay Area News reported that a rubber duck in the form of a sailor saved a 90-year-old woman's life this weekend.

Thursday, after Shirley Madsen had a riveting day at the casino she decided to have a bath before dinner.

"I only had an egg and a half of a pancake for breakfast," Madsen said. "When I got home I was trying to decide whether to have dinner first or take a bath."

According to Madsen's daughter, Diane Weber, Madsen leads a very active lifestyle, and it is not uncommon for her to miss her daughters phone calls during the day.

However, when Madsen decided to get out of the tub she could not lift herself. She stayed warm by continually draining and refilling the tub with warm water.

Too weak to use her hands as a cup, Madsen discovered that a rubber sailor duck had a hole in the bottom that would be sufficient for collecting water.

Madsen was discovered by Weber on Saturday when another daughter, Christine Steigelman grew concerned. Madsen returned home with dry skin, a deep tissue bruise and the equivalence of two bed sores.

"I will never get in another bathtub, ever," Madsen said.

With a laugh, she further advises: "Get a bunch of rubber duckies and make sure one of them can't swim."

Having a safety plan is important when many of us have older relatives that are beginning to show signs of aging. Madsen's daughter Steigelman said, "We are close (family) and we had a routine, but we did not have a plan."

Madsen will be equipped with a waterproof medical alert device in case of this ever happening again. Unfortunately for some, it is too late, our elderly relatives may be too weak or confused to push the button on the device.

If you have an elderly relative, make sure you talk with your family to create a plan like Madsen's daughters did. If she doesn't answer their twice daily phone calls, a member of their family will go to her home and check on her.
For more information on medical alert devices, check out LifeStation's 11 tips, and an article in the NYTimes about the importance of research.

Flickr photo by Jo Naylor.

Q&A with Sami Laskos

On April 22, there was a special surprise waiting in the LBCC Commons for students. Sami Laskos, a Culinary student at LBCC had made a cake depicting zombie's eating Chef Scott Anselm's head. I had the chance to see the cake with my own eyes, and speak with Sami in an email interview for a short Q&A.

Laskos, a second year culinary student, had made the cake because she had signed up for a bakery display rotation.

Culinary student James Scales has had plenty of experience working with Sami and really enjoyed her creative cake, "The best part about working with Sami is she has the ability to get the work done. No matter what it is, she can motivate a group, organize people, or getting through any of the work that needs to be done, and she'll do it in a way that's fair to everyone involved."

Sami Laskos proudly looking over her completed cake.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me the other day about your cake. Why did you make this cake?

The cake was a project for my Bakery Display rotation. As a second year
culinary student, there are 6 mandatory rotations and 7 "elective"
rotations; each rotation is 8 or 9 school days. Bakery Display is an
elective rotation with a pretty simple goal: create something that
demonstrates at least 3 bakery skills. It's incredibly open ended. There
have been sugar sculptures, chocolate sculptures, even a Rice Krispie
castle... But I think cakes are the most popular because the basics are
familiar, but a cake can transform into almost anything.

At the end of your rotation you display your project in the scramble area.


What was your inspiration?

As a first year culinary student I said I'd never do a Bakery Display
project... I'm not good in the Bakery. Cooking and Baking lay at opposite
ends of the culinary spectrum. Cooking is pretty "free-form" and there
aren't a lot of rules: some of this, some of that... Baking is more
scientific and exact, and I think it requires more patience.

Over the summer I watched an episode of "Ace of Cakes" that lit the fire. A
woman wanted a cake for her husband with zombies sucking his brains. Simply,
I liked the idea of a zombie cake much better than I liked the idea of a
traditional wedding cake. School started a few weeks later and I signed up
for the rotation. The decision didn't really catch up to me until 6 months
later when the rotation came up and I went "Oh shit... I guess now I have to
do it."


How long did the cake take to make?

Not including the hours I spent hammering out the idea and mapping out a
game plan... I'd say somewhere around 30 hours in the kitchen. At one point
I fell behind (the zombies were trickier that I'd imagined) and I was coming
in before school and staying after to get it done...


What was your favorite part about making the cake?

Truely, I didn't know what I was doing. I just kinda went for it... and I
suprised myself.

Little things like lips and eyes took forever. Where things like carving
facial features out of cake seemed to almost happen on their own. Each small
accomplishment boosted me for the next challenge.

It's a great feeling to work really hard on something and then have it turn
out better than you'd imagined (the silly thing actually looked like chef
scott!). The cake is actually still sitting the classroom because I just
can't bear to get rid of it yet : )


What did the other students think?

I tried to keep the identity of the head a secret until the last minute- but
Chef Scott knows everything that happens in that kitchen and I'm sure he
knew before I did. Chef took it in good humor, though he says he'll get me
back : ). As for students, there was a lot of "you're doing what?!" and
"they're letting you do that?" I'm still in shock that I got away with it.
throughout the whole project I was kind of waiting for someone to put a stop
to it. But they didn't, and I just kept pushing. The blood was the "frosting
on the cake" if you will... the head looked much more innocent before the
blood. It even dried like real blood! Overall, the kitchen got a kick out of
it.

Chef Scott Anselm, noted that "Sami's cake was very creative and incorporated many sound culinary techniques. Sami is skilled and has a good sense of humor. I think she and the other students enjoyed poking fun at me. We all have a good tome together in the kitchen."

All hail to you, Linn-Benton.

In the green Willamette Valley

Under skies of grey and blue

Is a school that welcomes ev'ryone,

Where dreams can always come true.

All hail to you, Linn-Benton!

Where learning changes lives,

Where caring teachers show the way,

And ev'ry student strives.

To achieve their own potential,

To aspire and succeed;

Linn-Benton's opportunities

Are ev'rything we need.

As spring term winds down, Linn-Benton Community College’s Concert Choir is gearing up for a special last show. James Reddan, conducting the final performance in June, has the honor of premiering LBCC’s first Alma Mater “All Hail to You, Linn-Benton”.

The debut will take place June 4, 7:30 p.m. at the First Assembly of God Church in Albany.

LBCC was established in 1966 as a two-year public college, and has never had an Alma Mater. Reddan decided to take the task on as a personal project because he felt the school needed one.

When I asked Reddan about the importance of an Alma Mater he said, “A school song (Alma Mater) is a way of showing pride in where you go to school, what you have learned, and celebrating the knowledge you take out into the world.”

The Alma Mater for LBCC was created by Eugene local, Rebecca Oswald, a composer. Her history with Reddan extends prior to 2001, where they both attended University of Oregon School of Music and Dance for their master’s programs.

According to Oswald, Reddan proposed the idea of the Alma Mater to her last fall, and she began researching the school’s history, and said, “Words of praise, reverence, and loyalty are essential” in the lyrics.

Oswald was inspired by students admiration of faculty and staff on campus, as well as the remarked beauty and location of LBCC. After much research, which included a survey filled out by students, faculty and staff, and visits to the campus . Oswald was able to complete the Alma Mater in late March and was told by Reddan that the dean and president “heartily” approved of the lyrics.

For tickets to the June 4 concert visit the Russell Tripp Preformance Center Box Office or call 541-917-4531.

All Hail to You, Linn-Benton

Music by Rebecca Oswald

Dedicated to the LBCC Choirs, James Reddan, Conductor in memory of John Reddan

In the green Willamette Valley

Under skies of grey and blue

Is a school that welcomes ev'ryone,

Where dreams can always come true.

All hail to you, Linn-Benton!

Where learning changes lives,

Where caring teachers show the way,

And ev'ry student strives.

To achieve their own potential,

To aspire and succeed;

Linn-Benton's opportunities

Are ev'rything we need.

As we step into the future

With a vision bold and bright,

We'll remember our beloved school,

This shining beacon of light.

All hail to you, Linn-Benton!

With gratitude sincere;

Our hopes and dreams become more real

With ev'ry passing year.

As eager, life-long learners

In this new millennium,

Linn-Benton, you have taughts us

That the best is yet to come!