My project ... so to speak

Lately I haven't done that much in the creative department. Basicly I have been super busy trying to get my drivers license before I have my baby, so 3-5 times a week I am at theory class or out driving, or like today attending a 7 hour first aid class.

Another reason for my lack of creativity also have a little something to do with what have happened the last few weeks. Let me introduce you to some of the events that have taken place in my house lately:

This is my better half helping me carry out all my crafty materials



This is some of my crafting items neatly placed in the livingroom, waiting to be moved into my bedroom, where the little man was sleeping.



I have finally found room for all my things in my bedroom. I cannot believe how much junk I have. And I mean junk! So many weird things, that I am probably never going to use. And I can't believe my own inability to get rid of some of it. I mean it is not like I am ever going to use all of it. But no. It stays! All of it!

Then the carpet was moved in what we the last few weeks have called the former crafting room.
Pregnant woman crawling around on all four. I got the job done but it was probably not a pretty sight.



And Miss Anne and me started putting a new floor on in what is now called Samuels new bedroom.



So when I am not busy figuring out the ins and outs of cars, then I am putting down floors. And when I finally do have time, well, then all my ... junk is in my bedroom where the little man is sleeping for a few more days. Hopefully at the end of this week the floor will be done, panels are there, the bed have been moved along with the little one and I once again have a craft room.

Ahh, bliss! It have been a busy few weeks but it is also nice to get things done and learn new things and I really look forward to enjoying the result, and I am excited - and a little apprehensive - about Samuel sleeping in his own little room, and excited about me being able to read in my bed for the first time in more than 1½ years. Simple pleasures, I guess!

Have a happy week!

I stand all amazed

There is a saying that goes like this - the way to a mans heart goes through his stomach. My better half have so far proved that saying wrong ... untill I tried this recipe. It is a cold creamy cucumber soup.



He was in heaven! Heaven, I tell you. I have never ever seen my better half react in this manner to any kind of food. If he could he would ask that soup to move in!

Kay, who has the website, demonstrates all her recipes with loads of beautiful pictures and simple insructions, so you know precicely what to do. The best thing is that all the food I have made from her blog have been incredibly tasty yet easy to make.

And the very, very best thing is that this wonder soup is so easy to make, so naturally we are having it again very soon.

Who knew a soup had this kind of power?

My first attempt

I am very fascinated by picures of food (and by food itself, naturally) and after reading a post at www.pioneerwoman.com about food photography I figured I had to try it myself.

First I needed some food! Fortunately a friend of mine got married and I volunteered to bring cake to the reception. A few pieces were left at home - yes, I was very sad that I couldn't bring all the cake with me and had to leave some for later.

So armed with my new knowledge of food photography and a few pieces of brownie with white chocolate and blueberries on top I gave it a go. Here is the result sraight out of the camera:





I also figured out what is the best part about photographing food ...



It is after the pictures are taken ...



YUMMY!

Zzz ...

Being a nice husband can take its toll.

How to throw a fancy party

Okay, you invite 110 people or so, ask everybody to dress up, order yummy food and ask me to do the decorations. Or at least that was what my friends did. They helped organise a convention for singles in the age 30-45, and on the last night they had a formal dinner.

Fortunately for me my stepmom and one of my stepsisters came to my rescue, along with about 10 of the participants. With their help it only took us a few hours to prepare everything for the party.

Being bored in the back of the car on the way up there. Hmm, those sunflowers look cool. *Click*



Let me see how this close-up thing works on my new camera. Sit still, little one. *Click*



Because we had a fairly limited budget we decided to focus entirely on the tables, filling them with loads of vases with fresh flowers in vibrant colors. The rest of the table was in neutral colors with white tablecloths, a cream colored runner, white menucards placed in a white holder and white napkins with a piece of brown fabric tied with a piece of string.







For reasons unknown to me I forgot to get pictures of all the flowers, but rest assured that there was plenty, plenty of flowers.

Oh, I almost forgot ...

We went to the last skan of the tiny one, and everything looks just perfect. And we are having a little boy.

Sea-life

A few days ago a couple of friends and their babies left our house, leaving me with nice memories, dishes to clean, an excited kid and half a loaf of bread.

When I closed the door after the last one of them left, I felt like fresh air, leaving the dirty dishes behind, getting the kid and me a little relaxed and using some of the bread before I ate it all.

A few minutes later we were down by the lakes looking at the ducks with their ducklings.

It was just one of those nice quiet afternoons where everything seems just right. I feel so blessed that I have many of those in my life!

yummy food

I am a big fan of food. It just taste so darn good! My lovely, lovely better half is not as big a fan as I am. I am actually not even sure he is even a fan. Before he met me, he lived off muesli, spaghetti and honny sandwiches. That was his three daily meals. No, definitly not a fan.

So I seldomly can be bothered making anything fancy at our house - that fact that I am currently pregnant and tired doesn't help much either. But when we were at the beautiful summerhouse I was suddenly surroundded by fans of nice food. And so I felt like cooking again.

So one of the evenings I made twice-baked potatoes, courtesy of The PioneerWoman, tomato and feta salad and shrimp.




Tomato and feta salad is so easy and it tastes amazing. Just grab a big handful of tomatoes and slice them or chop them or cut them out in the shape of stars. I know some of you want to. Take some fetacheese and cut into small pieces. Combine in a bowl. Cut some onion rings, and add to it. Add a little bit of salt and basil leaves. If you feel like it you can also add a splash of oil, but I think that is just a waste of calories. Save that for the chocolate!



The better half was very excited to be near the water and all he wanted was seafood. And so I got a hold of some giant shrimp. They were so nice!

Had I started a little earlier and had I been home in my own fully stocked kitchen I would probably have made a marinade for the shrimp, but seeing as how we were far away and I didn't clean the shrimp until 5 minutes before we were eating, I opted for something fast.

I got out the pan, thinly slices half a chili and added to the pan along with some butter and salt. I didn't have any garlic there, but just pretend that it was there cause it is so good with it. Finely mince ½-1 garlic clove and add to the pan. Heat it up and add the grey, boring looking shrimp to the pan. Turn the shrimp over, then they are nicely pink on the one side. Within 2 minutes you have some funky looking, flavourfull shrimp all ready to eat. We ate outside and it couldn't have been more perfect.



On the twice baked potatoes I used a recipe from here. I love this site and besides fun posts, cool giveaways and info about homeschooling (yes, homeschooling, I am not kidding) she also have amazing recipes for good food from before butter came out of style. Plus easy-to-understand step by step recipes. I love things that are easy to understand!

Enjoy!

My better half

The other day the cravings got too much for me. "Wouldn't it be nice to invite your lovely wife out for a steak?" I asked my better half. He was a little puzzled at first, but he is slowly learning that in our world pregnancy and steak-cravings are heavily intertwined.

And so my better half invited me, his pregnant and tired wife, out for a steak. And as I sat there and ate my steak, enjoying it more than should be humanly possible, the better half ate his banana split. Because unlike almost any other man I know, my better half is not much for steak. He planned to have pancakes and ice cream for dessert but when he was done with his banana split he was completely full.

Is it wrong to love your better half for eating banana split at a steak restaurant? Actually the fact that he very generously shared his banana split with me made him even more lovable!

I consider myself a very fortunate woman!

Getting to know my new baby

While I was on vacation I expanded my mind, my horizons, my world. In other words I learned about shutter speed. A very fascinating thing. I am so intrigued by how you can capture motion and it seems almost dreamlike.

One of the evenings the better half and I went to the beach for a night swim (for him, always for him) I brought the camera wih me determined to try out a few things.

I used the [S] setting on my camera where I can choose the shutterspeed and the camera then does the aperture. I like that. I know I can't mess it up too bad. I tried a few different times, ranging from 0.5 seconds to 3 using a big stone as a tripod. Standing completely still for 3 seconds is harder than it sounds!



The shutter speed on this one is between 2.5 and 3 seconds and I like how the waves get blurry and the water splashing up against the stones almost seem fog-like. It makes it a little more fairytale like for me.

Yes, I still love my camera!