Dude's office before and after

So Dude went on a week long business trip this week.


As soon as he told me about it, I began planning the 'make-over' of his office.


His work corner Before:








and After:
(notice the new camo-green accent wall?)













The extra computer desk, tv, printer, and router area Before:
















and After: (his new work corner)












The above mentioned corner Before:












And After:
(I'm planning to hang a bulletin board up above his chair here.)


Then there is this funny anecdote about how he came up to me right before he left and asked me not to touch his office. The reason? He didn't want me moving his telescope and possibly damaging it.








I'm here to tell you, "I did not move his telescope. It's been in the very same spot since I began working in the room." As seen Here:

(insert evil laugh Here:)

More D.I. stuff

Ok (Shannon)...
Here is the redwood tray I found. It has a couple of stains on the top right, I cleaned it, but those are still there. I need to look up a cleaning method online to see if I can remove them.


It has a cool Mexican themed block print on it, looks like a couple dancing a traditional dance on a nice afternoon, villa's in the background as well as numerous guitar/mandolin players.


The back of the plaque tells a brief history of California Redwoods.


I also found 2 king sized sheets i forgot to mention before.. the blue striped one looks like the back of a quilt to me, the floral may have to be turned into a couple of shirts?

D.I. Finds

Oh a thrifting we will go... a thrifting we will go...

I took the kids to our local thrift store (Deseret Industries or the D.I.) yesterday.

I managed to get the kids each 3 pair of swim trunks ($3 each!), a t-shirt each (for a freezer paper stencil project I'm planning... stay tuned) and 2 1/2 toys each.


As for myself, I scored and found 5 shirts that fit well & that I love, as well as this darling shirt that is 2 sizes too small for me. But I loved the style and print so much I had to have it anyway.


I'm thinking about opening the side seams and sewing in a bandana print that matches the red/magenta in the print. Or make something else out of it all together. We shall see...


I also found this black paisley shirt. It had a beaded yoke that was way too heavy for the lightweight cotton fabric. (Did you WANT to see my belly button when I wear the shirt? I think not)


So I spent over an hour unpicking all the little beads except for the very bottom row. Little round white beads spaced about 1/2" apart from each other. Then I removed all the little threads and knots, and washed the shirt.


You can't even tell the beads were there originally! I wore it all day today, and totally love it! Very nice, very light weight summer top!


You probably won't see any of the other shirts, since I'm not modifying them at all... we'll see..



Anyway, the clothing, (6 women's tops, 6 boys swimsuits, 1 man's t-shirt, and 2 boys t-shirts) the five toys, two 8x10 picture frames, and a neat redwood tray with a block print on it cost me $60. Not bad!

Cock-A-Doo Jammies

I made jammies for the kids today out of some of Grandma's Y's Rooster/Chicken fabric.

Drew ran up to Dudley when he came home and told him about his 'Cock-a-doo' jammies.

He and Douglas have been cluck clucking and cock-a-doodle doo-ing all night now.

Happy happy Cock-a-doo's!

I am woman, HEAR ME ROAR!

Lookee what I did today!



Before.....









During....















More during...













And AFTER!












Only problem.. it's a little tall (That is Drew touching the table...)

Dudley kinda likes it tall.. it'd make a good work surface. Need to make the benches, then figure out the height thing.

More to come!

Pork & Mushroom Moo Shu

I came across this recipe from Women's Day magazine.

Recipe Ingredients

• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced
• 1 1⁄2 lb boneless pork loin roast, trimmed and quartered
• 3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 12-oz pkg broccoli slaw
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 12 small flour tortillas, warmed

Recipe Preparation

1. In a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker, combine the ginger, 1⁄2 cup of the hoisin sauce and 2 Tbsp water; stir in the mushrooms. Add the pork and turn to coat.

2. Cook, covered, until the pork is cooked through and very tender, on low for 6 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

3. Using two forks, shred the pork. Stir it into the cooking liquid and mushrooms; stir in the remaining 1⁄4 cup hoisin.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, sugar, and 1⁄4 tsp each salt and pepper. Add the broccoli slaw and scallions and toss to combine. Roll the pork and mushrooms and broccoli slaw in the tortillas (about 1⁄3 cup each per tortilla). Use toothpicks to hold together, if desired.

It sounds Awesome! However, I didn't have ALL the ingredients on hand, so this is what I did:

HOMEMADE HOISIN SAUCE (Chinese equivalent of BBQ sauce)

4 TBS Soy sauce
2 TBS Peanut Butter
1 TBS Honey
2 tsp white vinegar
1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp sesame seed oil
20 drops hot sauce or other favorite sauce (I used pickapeppa sauce)
1/8 tsp black pepper.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

I then put all of the sauce in the crock pot, and rolled the pork roast in it. I added a can of mushroom pieces (rather than the shiitake) including the liquid, and cooked on slow for 6 hours.

After 6 hours I shredded the pork with 2 forks, then let it cook for another hour.

I served the pork with white rice and stir fry veggies (again what I had on hand), rather than the broccoli slaw.

It was oh so nummy! And oh so easy! Just another pulled pork recipe for you!