Lasso The Moon

Best of 2013 :: Getting Comfortable in the Kitchen

Welcome to my look back at 2013, and its goals and resolutions.  I find it helpful to look back at accomplishments in order to get a sense of what I'd like my goals to be for the upcoming year.

Here are my resolutions for 2013:

 

You can read more about them in the original post: Welcome, 2013!

So, what about resolution number 2? In my original post, I talked about my desire to expand my dinner planning options, and maybe have a few more recipes memorized as well.  (I don't know why, but pulling out a cookbook seems daunting sometimes.  And then I just want to grab for the box of mac and cheese!)

Here are a few food posts from the past year.

This super-simple meal is one of my most-pinned posts of all time.  I guess I'm not the only one who is looking for simple healthy meal options.

The most delicious breakfast casserole I've ever tasted.

 It doesn't have to be from scratch to be pretty and delicious.

 

Ok, not a meal...but so fun to make!  Great for your Valentine!

And this one isn't from 2013, but it was still part of my kitchen resolution. 

Seriously.  The Best Chocolate Cake.  Ever.

Looking back at these food posts, it might seem like I spent a lot more time making desserts than I did dinner for my family.  Let's just say that this resolution is going to take a few more years to really "take". 

I also feel like I need to make a meal several times to be sure that my family actually likes it.  And that I like it.  So, just take my word for it that I made lots of meals for my family, that I improved in the area of home cooking, and that I am looking forward to expanding my skills.

I have found several sources for dellicious-sounding meals, and I'll keep you up to date on my progress!

If you'd like to check out yesterday's post, you can find it here:

Best of 2013 :: Making our House a Home

Best of 2013 :: Making Our House a Home

 

 It's time to look back at the year and highlight some of the ways that we grew, changed, learned, and succeeded.  That's why I make New Year's resolutions every year.  Not to whip myself into shape or berate myself for past failures--that stuff doesn't actually work, anyway.  To me, resolutions are about plotting a course, setting a goal, keeping track of progress, and hopefully being better for it at the end.  If you need a refresher, here are the resolutions I made for 2013:

If you'd like to see these explained in more detail, read last year's post:

Welcome, 2013!

The main objective was to make our home reflect who we are while making it pretty, comfortable, welcoming, and functional.

The secondary challenge was to use only funds that I was able to bring in from outside the family budget.  It wasn't easy, but it was fun!

Here are some of the projects we finished in the house this year:

I build this bench for the entryway from scratch!

Elijah's felt mobile (which he's still crazy about!)

 

Some behind-the-door bookshelves to hold Emma's book collection...at least some of it.

A new table top for our too-small patio table.

I finally got to do something I've wanted to for forever!  A whole chalkboard wall in Ethan's room!

These are just a few of the projects that we finished in the house this year.  If you'd like to see more, check out the "house into home" category.

So, did I keep my resolution?   Absolutely.  Sure, there are lots of projects that I would have liked to accomplish that still need to be done, and there are still a couple rooms with the same old brown paint on the walls.  But my resolutions are about a direction of improvement, not an end goal.  This resolution helped me to focus my energy and heart on making our home into what it needs to be.  To consider what our style is, and do what we can to make our home reflect that.  If I want our home to look, feel, or function a certain way, I'm the one who needs to step up and make that happen.  It's my job.  I'm the homemaker.  This might be the first time that I've actually embraced that role, instead of trying to resist it.  My home, my family, and my general attitude have benefited from that shift.

Will I keep it up into the new year?  Oh yes!  I learned how to use power tools, for goodness sake!  I'm not going back.  I have lots of plans for the rest of the rooms in our house, and I'm excited to bring my blog readers along with me.  Maybe it will inspire you to tackle a room in your house, too! 

So, what about the money.  Did I say within my budget? This might be my favorite part of the "house into home" resolution.  Every project that I finished this year for the house was paid for with funds that I raised through my two etsy shops: Rope and Lasso the Moon, as well as a few well-timed gifts and gift cards from family and loved ones.  I think that having the financial boundaries made me more creative and resourceful. I could have gotten a lot more done by digging into the family savings, but putting the burden on myself actually gave me the freedom to do what I wanted with our home, without feeling like I was taking away from our family's future.  And that feels really good.

Merry Christmas from the Family 2013

 

Christmas Morning.  This was our first with four kids, and it seems like this might be the first one that felt really complete.  And maybe the first one where no one threw up.  So, I think I can safely say that it was the best Christmas ever.

Since Donnie is in youth ministry, the Christmas season is a bit hectic.  The entire month is full of parties, and preparation for parties.  The week leading up to Christmas, we had a party every day for five days straight.  And each day was spent fulfilling the requirements of the upcoming party: preparing dishes, wrapping presents, making presents, picking festive outfits for all the people I'm responsible for...(apparently that last one does not include me.  I think I wore the same thing 3 days in a row.  Who has time to pick out something new??)  By the time Christmas day got here, we were a little afraid that the kids would be sick of it already.

Not so!  In fact, they were up at around 8, and ready to go.  I was feeling exhausted from staying up late wrapping, but then I heard what Esther was saying about how all those presents got under the tree, so I had to jump up and make a video.

 Uncle Jon, my 18-yr-old brother, is her current favorite person, since he took her to the park last week.  And let me tell you, it is not easy to become one of her favorites.  Well done, Jon!

Eli just lay there like a slug.  It was his only defense.

I don't know what was up with the baby. He's usually full of energy, but this morning he was just chilled out on the couch.  He lay there so long, that most of the pics of him are exactly the same.  All of these photos came off of my camera in the same order, so you can see what I mean!

Esther in her new super hero jammies.  She is really into Batman and Superman.

And socks, apparently.

Wake up, Eli!  There are presents to open!!

And paper to eat.

Donnie is the chief among gift-givers.  He out-does me on every occasion.  This year he got me a hand-written note from one of my favorite bloggers, and a scroll saw--to name just a couple.  Love that man!

Since the week surrounding Christmas is so crazy, we have made it our family tradition to stay at home the entire day.  We don't make any obligations.  We don't even clean up the wrapping paper if we don't feel like it.  We just play and rest and love on each other.

So, how was your Christmas!  Do you have a tradition that you love?  Share it in the comments!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Gathered

Where has the time gone?  Is it really less than 10 days til Christmas!

The final days of Gathered: A Vintage Marketplace have come and gone, and I am ready to focus all my time and energy on the family and the season.

It was a great experience, and I'll be back here on the blog very soon filling in all the blanks and catching you up if you weren't able to attend. 

Thank you to all who pitched in, sent encouragement, and came to the shop!  We are looking forward to doing it all over again sometime in the not-so-distant future!

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Ice Storm

The neighborhood is frozen under a blanket of ice.  School is out, roads are closed, and the children are curled up by the fire under a pile of blankets.   No one is going anywhere, and we kinda love it.

This rose is clearly confused by the extreme weather patterns of North Texas.

This weekend was supposed to be our second weekend of Gathered: A Vintage Market.  Since the roads are basically unusable, most of our customers stayed away, even though I set up this roaring fire chalkboard to keep them warm. 

Oh, well!  Knowing Texas, we'll be in shorts for next weekend's sale.  Stay safe, y'all!

 

Reflections Contest 2013

It's amazing what you can crank out in a single evening with talented kids and some art supplies. We forgot about the annual "reflections" contest until the night before. The theme was "Believe, Dream, Inspire". Who comes up with these themes?? This one is Ethan's.

He is considering the paths open to him in his future. He came up with the career ideas himself. Love it! (Those clouds were added without consulting his controlling mama first. He drew those on while I was dealing with a potty-training situation in the next room. Good for him!)

This one is Emma's.

She is dreaming about all the possibilities ahead of her. I don't know if you can see it, but there are dreamy things drawn in the watercolor cloud. I love the self portrait part the most!

You can see that we are still on a watercolor kick from Emma's 9th birthday party.  We love to blend those colors!