LIFE NTERTWINED

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Re-purposing Craft Project Done at Your Workstation By Catherine Ratliff 1/8/15      I was gifted a new polka dot block Memo Cube (The MOE3 line) by Jackie Shapiro.      This item was purchased at Michaels  crafting store. But, I’m betting you can find them almost anywhere. However, they may be manufactured by a  different company. Ultimately, they will have the same benefit. When you need a piece of paper to jot down an important note, it fits the bill.       This particular block memo cube comes in different colors. It has 600 pages that form a colorful polka dot design once all sheets are shrink-wrapped or pushed together. A beautiful bright red bow was tied around it with a pastel blue ribbon.        The first thing I did was detach the ribbon off the back of the memo cube.        Then, I took a pair of scissors to cut the ribbon off. The bow  was glued ...

By Catherine Ratliff

     I needed to make something that didn't take a long time. My taste buds called for rice and chicken, but I wanted to to do something a little different. Hey, tacos seemed like a great idea. The typical taco in my memory consist of hamburger and crushed tomatoes, lettuce, cream cheese, etc. I'm not much of a cream cheese person and neither are my boys. So, I thought, let's put together something simple that the little ones wouldn't pick apart. Chicken and Rice Tacos .   Here's what you will need to yield 10-12 tacos: 1 tablespoon Oil 1/2 cup diced onions 1/2 green peppers Garlic Salt - as needed Garlic Power - as  needed Your choice of seasoning - as needed Poultry Seasoning - as needed 2 tablespoon Italian Dressing 1 Pack of Yellow Mexican Rice (or Mexican rice of your choice) 1 box of tacos  1 lb Boneless Chicken Strips Reserve at least three burners stove top. In a skillet on the first burner, you will put the diced onions and pepper...

Good Day. I just want to make a comment. When things go wrong and people stagnate your life, please remember to keep your wits about you. You are being tested. The saying may be true..."Things happen for a reason." I thought it was cliche, but I will humor the idea. I have taken from my adverse situations what I needed within the past year. I am now moving my paddles again to get this boat back out to sea. I've been sitting adrift way too long. I want to be happy again. Free to express and experience joy. Live. Be Carefree. Be Simple. Be Interesting. Be Inviting. Good Day.

I am just going to jump into the action on this one. Frannie started out as a regular No. 2 pencil sharpened just right. No special bells or whistles. I took two photo shots of her with a nice shadowy and silky look. I sketched her with soft edges and in the second shot her lines were defined more. Below, I began adding a little blue oil pastel in the background to have Frannie appear to pop out on the page. Frannie’s hair was taking on oil pastels in a shiny sharp black sheen with highlights of golds and reds. I worked the streaks in place. Then I started adding some florals under her chin to add to her beauty. The flower lines were traced in Fuchsia and hot pink oils and smeared to create the effect of pink petals. Sepia was shadowed lightly in the groove of the flower. Pink and purple oil pastel defined the whiskers in the centers. I used a black extra fine sharpie to give the center whiskers a defined look.     I darkened the royal blue, immensely, in the ...

Today, I made my two boys pancakes with extra scoops of cinnamon (hence the brownness in color). I only photographed one of the plates. One sweetie pie had boiled eggs and the other had scrambled. Both plates had a few slices of pan-seared salami that served as beds for the halved boiled eggs on one of the plates. I wanted to try a different fruit combination for the sides. They usually get strawberries or orange slices to accompany their pancakes. Today, I sliced kiwis and bananas. It gave it a sorta 'Prince' feel and they felt like royalty. What they did next was sprinkle powdered sugar over the pancakes and drizzle lots of maple syrup. Hey, to each his own. No pancakes for me. But, it was not a complete lost. I only grabbed scrambled eggs with kiwi and bananas and  two slices of pan seared salami and one slice of buttered toast. Ooh wee! So we are welcoming the Fall season in with these dark colors and a nice centerpiece for the table. Bon Apetit