What I'm Up to Today...

So a certain little guy has a birthday coming up...really soon. Friday, in fact. I've been busy today creating some things for his party. I've put it off until the last moment because I've had all these wonderful fun things in my head that I wanted to create/bake/do for him, but I just couldn't choose. Now that it's crunchtime, I don't have the luxury of deliberating any longer. It's go time! Here's some of the things I'm working on today:

After the party, I'll post some proper photos and not just a teaser. Happy Monday everyone!

Finer Things Friday

Amy over at amysfinerthings.com moved her Finer Things Friday list to Sundays, which means I've been lax about posting since I don't typically blog on weekends. But I much to be thankful for, so I'm going to continue counting my blessings.

#41. Fluffy dandelions, not in my yard, but at the park where I can photograph them and blow them in the wind!

#42. Spring!
#43. Sweet chubby baby thighs.

#44. Soccer games on-base for my husband's team. It's really fun getting out and walking around and catching whatever glimpses I can of the game in-between baby wranglings.
#45. Feeling like I don't have a set plan for my career, and finally being okay with that.
#46. Thrift store finds, especially cheap choo-choos!

#47. Graphic design! I love creating things, and it's always so much fun to come up with new ideas and themes.
#48. Photography. I've lately delved a little deeper into photography, and -gasp- taken my camera off automatic. I've had a lot of fun finding out what my camera (and I!) can do.
#49. Wild Cherry Pepsi, on sale at the commissary for 60 cents for a two-liter. My guilty pleasure!
#50. A toddler who finally goes to his own bed at night without complaining about it.

What about you? Anything you're particularly thankful for or blessed in this week?

You Capture - Outdoors

This week's You Capture challenge at ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com by Beth is really easy: outdoors. I'm assuming that as long as you're outside snapping photos for the challenge that it counts! Here's some from a photo walk that I did for this challenge.

As a child I loved blowing these in the wind. We called them helicopter plants.

Ladybug scaling a dandelion

A log, I love the chocolate color and the textures

The path we walked

Weeds? What weeds? I think they're pretty if they're not in my yard.

I suppose these are proper flowers; found on a tree nearby

All photos taken by myself, Amy Proffitt, and copyright 2011 by Amy Proffitt.

Mother's Day free printable poster card design

Did you know Mother's Day was next weekend? I didn't. I thought it would be later in May. I guess I better get my act together!

I have the world's best mom as I'm sure most of you do too. So I designed some fun printable designs to share. They are sized at 5x7 and come in four standard colors (red, pink, citrus, and teal/aqua). If you want a different color or size, just message me or drop a comment below.

These are great printed out on heavy cardstock. Then write a personal message or poem on the backside, sign and date, and frame. You don't have to frame it, but it looks really lovely in a black frame.

Here's what all four standard colors look like:

Here's the links to download them:
Click Here for the PINK version
Click Here for the RED version
Click Here for the CYAN or TEAL version
Click Here for the CITRUS version
Click HERE for the MUM version

Please respect my work and don't try to pass the design off as your own, or resell it. Please don't distribute it in any way, but if you want to share the design, please share this blog post. Thanks!

Designs copyright 2011 by Amy Proffitt.

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http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/,

http://makingtheworldcuter.blogspot.com/, http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

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http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/, http://todayscreativeblog.net/,

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You Capture - Pink!

This week's challenge over at ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com run by the fabulous Beth is pink. Hmm. When I think of pink I think of spring, baby girls, and marathon runs (of the Susan G. Komen variety).

I lack baby girls (boo) and there's no marathons this week, so I was hard-pressed to find something pink. I settled on more spring photos. Shortly after this first photo was taken though, the poor tree lost all its blooms. Now the ground is covered with a blanket of soft pink petals. If it hadn't rained recently, it might have made a decent photo.

My second submission is Easter-related. If you look hard enough, there's a bright pink in there somewhere.

All photos taken by myself, Amy Proffitt, and copyright 2011 by Amy Proffitt.

Baked Sheep Cheese Recipe

The husband and I went out to eat at a nearby Italian restaurant and we ordered an appetizer. It sounded really yummy and was even better than we thought it would be. So once we got home (well, the next day) I set out to making it myself. Here's my recipe for Baked Sheetp Cheese (the Greeks call it saganaki).

Baked Sheep Cheese
What you'll need:
2 pieces of sheep cheese (make sure it's sheep, and not goat or cow), each piece around 250 g
3 tbsp olive oil
1 dash of salt
1 dash of pepper
about 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned bread crumbs, but you can add in your own oregano and spices)
1 egg
1 dash of lemon juice



Very simple ingredients



What to do:
Whisk egg in a bowl. Add dash of salt and dash of pepper (I use freshly cracked pepper, but any will do). Add a dash of lemon, making sure to mix thoroughly.
Spread the bread crumbs on a plate nearby. Dip your portions of cheese into the egg first (thoroughly covering the surfaces), then cover all the sides with the bread crumbs in the plate.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet on the stove over medium heat. Once heated, place the portions of cheese into the skillet, turning over once to brown both sides. This should take about 5-8 minutes to heat the entire portion.
Remove the cheese from the skillet once you're ready and place on paper towels to absorb the excess olive oil. Place on plates, and serve with crackers or freshly sliced french bread or baguettes. Enjoy!

My coated sheep cheese in the skillet



Yummy!



How to Properly Enjoy Dandelions

Since we have an inordinate amount of dandelions in our backyard park, I've put together a tutorial for you on how to properly enjoy these little garden menaces.

Step 1: Head to the park, locate big, fluffy dandelion puff.

Step 2: Pluck dandelion from the ground.

Step 3: Hold dandelion near mouth, purse lips.

Step 4: Blow!

Step 5: Turn your head away from Mommy, try to eat said dandelion while she's distracted with snapping photos.

Step 6: Pout because A: you're not allowed eating dandelions, and B: blowing dandelion puffs is hard!

Step 7: Try, try again. This time, with success!

Step 8: Get bored that not all the puffs blew away, and mash the dandelion puff up in your chubby little hands (chubbiness optional).