Pumping Iron

What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon...in a gym full of sweaty, muscle bound men! My middle son Josh, has recently taken up power lifting so we went to his competition to take pictures and give him some moral support.



This is from his first competition. Josh's girlfriend Maryia made this sign to support him during the competition....isn't she cute?












He won first place in his age group for curling. I love this sequence of pictures as it shows the detemination and skill that is used in power curling. There are 3 judges who make sure that the lift, curl or press is done the correct way...if it's not you get redlighted. You can get one redlight and it's still good lift and counts.







You have 3 attempts in each event....most increase their weight with each attempt. Everyone has their own mental preparation that they do before each lift...it's interesting to watch.




Many pace the floor before a lift...many place rosin on their hands to control the sweating.....my Josh clicks his fingers and taps is thighs....I guess it's all that nervous energy he has stored up.


Josh was able to curl 160 pounds in the power curl event.

He goes to the gym everyday for at least 3 hours to work out. He's stopped eating junk food, which is amazing as he was the king junk food eater in my house! My food bill has decreased in that area but has increased in the fruits and vegetables and healthy food area.

Josh entered all 3 events...but missed winning in the bench press event. Of course safety is of a paramount importance when power lifting. The head judge makes the determination during the lift as to whether the contestant is in any danger and can call off the lift at any moment. There are always spotters with any lifting event. Some lifters wear support belts around their waist to support their backs.










He also won first place in his weight class for dead lift....he was able to dead lift 450 pounds...Wow!




Josh and Charlie with their trophies


There were many power lifters at this event. Their ages ranged from 13 yrs old up to and into the 70 yr old age range. There also were a few women who participated in the event.

What's In a blueberry....

muffin that is. Last weekend I was able to bake some blueberry muffins. Haven't been able to do that for almost a year since beginning kitchen renovations. The hubby hooked the stove back up but the kitchen is still non-exsistant. The wall seperating the diningroom and kitchen is now gone...but I'll update with pictures on another post. Back to the muffins...I had frozen some blueberries this summer hoping to be able to make some muffins. Anyway, here's my simple recipe that I use...

1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 1/4-1 1/2 cup blueberries

Mix the first 6 ingrediens together. Fold in the blueberries. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.....Yummo!

Green Beer, shamrocks and corned beef...

Feeling A wee bit Irish today? Even if you aren't, go ahead and indulge but make sure to be wearing some green cause if not you'll get pinched! Ouch! LOL!

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland was born in Roman Britian in the 5th century to a church deacon and his wife. At 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave. He was able to escape after God spoke to him in a dream
and he returned to England where he became a priest. In 432 he returned to Ireland this time as a bishop to save the Irish people.

In his church teachings, it is believed he used the shamrock to teach the holy trinity...the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to the Irish people. The wearing of the green came about came about as the result of the 1798 rebellion where the Irish army wore full green uniforms on March 17th hoping to make a statement. In fact the color blue was most associated with St. Patrick until that time.

As for feasting on corned beef and drinking green beer, it has served as a one day break during lent, the 40 day period of fasting. St Patricks Day is never celebrated during Holy Week. In fact, the last time its observance date was moved, was in 2008. This occurance will not happen again to 2160 so I think we are all safe to continue to relic and frolic on March 17th!

So....May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
May the sun shine upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm Late. I'm Late....

For a very important date....Boy do I feel like the White Rabbit most days! Of course with the remake of Alice In Wonderland starring Johnny Depp, I just had to make some signs.



Alice's Adventures In Wonderland was written by Lewis Carroll(a pseudonym)in 1865. It tells the story of Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a world of curiouser and curiouser things as Alice puts it.

Along the way Alice meets the Queen of Hearts who invites Alice, some say ordered, to play a game of croquet with her...needless to say things don't go well for the Queen! So off with her head! LOL!


And of course what fantasy world would be complete without a wide grinned cat saying..... "We're all mad here!" Boy this could be my house! Some days it seems like so!

Lewis Carroll went onto to write "Through The Looking Glass", the sequel to Alice using the same genre of literary nonsense as well as some well known poems.

Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) who was one of 11 children born to a Angelican church clergyman and his wife in Cheshire, England. Carroll attended Oxford where excelled as a brilliant scholar in mathematics and was an inventor. Some inventions credited to Dodgson are a postage stamp case, a writing tablet called the nyctograph, and a version of a word game that we know today as scrabble.

And I thought that he was just a writer!

Monday Marketplace Featured Artist....Primgals Primitive Palette

My featured artist today is Jody Seilheimer of Primgal's Primitive Palette. As a fellow painter I have always admired Jody's painting. She does a beautiful job whether it's a design from Renee Mullins or Terrye French. The above picture is of Jody's newest creation, which I just love.




Jody has been painting in her Sandwich Illinois studio for the past 18 years. Jody's inspiration comes from things from days gone by. Her favorite designs to paint are for the holidays.


Jody's favorite surfaces to paint on are practcial things like soap, mousepads and light switch covers. She also loves to breath new life by repurposing cast off treasures and her unique style is very evident. So if you have a chance to stop by her etsy shoppe, please do..I'm sure you'll find a treasure or two that you can't resist.



You can also find Jody by following her blog. There she shares her newest offerings for sale as well as tidbits and whatnots.

Just A Chuckle....

With the blah weather in February, I decided to look for some funny sayings to give me a chuckle. The above one, is one of my favorites that I have found so far. It mde me laugh so hard when I read it and it is soooooo true! LOL!




I think this one just says it all...


Ever be in the middle of an argument with someone and they realize they were wrong? A lot of stammering and babbling starts to go on....



And of course, this one is soooo true in my house...darn fairies!

As usual you can find these signs and many more in my etsy shoppe. If you have a saying that you'd like put on a sign, drop me an email and I'd be glad to work with you on a custom sign.

Spring Is In The Air!

Well the last few days sure has made it feel like it is. We got to 64 today! Makes me want to go outside and work in my flower beds and get them ready.





Guess I need to wait til all the snow melts first! UGH!

Hurry Spring!

Monday Marketplace- The Moonlit Stitch

This week I have decided to have Lisa Reiman of "The Moonlit Stitch" as my featured artist.

Lisa has been crafting for many, many years. She says she can remember crafting in some form or another with her mom and grandma. What wonderful memories to have.

Currently Lisa sells her "moonlit" creations on etsy and has been selling there since February 2008. When asked why she chose her shop name she explained that it is often the time of day when she can work on her projects, when her family is tucked away fast asleep....a girl after my own heart!




Inspiration for Lisa comes from all around us. She especially loves the change of seasons. She currently specializes in primitve style make-do's, doll folk, ornies and bowl fillers.

Be sure to stop by her etsy shoppe to check out all Lisa has to offer. I'm sure she would love your visit. Also from time to time you can find Lisa's work on ebay. Be sure to stop by her blog and say hi!

What's for Dinner?

Here in my house we hear that a lot! With 3 growing boys someone is always hungry! One of my favorites and easiest things I make is Chicken Salad. It's great for lunch, a snack or dinner.

Some of you that know me are aware that my kitchen has been under going major, an I mean major renovations. It really doesn't even exist except for a nice new ceramic tile floor. The hubby is doing the work and lets just say if there was a race between him and molasses....well molasses would win!




Anyway, I've had to find ways to feed the restless natives here without having a kitchen to work in. Oh and if no kitchen wasn't bad enough the hubby has food allergies, so everything I make has to be from scratch so we know what is in it!

So anyway, back to the chicken salad. It's so yummy and simple. So here's my recipe, which isn't really a recipe...

1 rotisserie chicken
2-3 TBSP of mayo
bunch of red seedless grapes
1 small apple

Cut chicken off the bone into bite size pieces. Cut grapes into quarters. Slice apples into small pieces. Add to chicken and coat all with mayo. Enjoy!

I'm always lookng for new recipes to try out that are simple and quick, so if anyone has any they are willing to share, please do. Happy Sunday!

We're Going To The Chapel

Betcha I got you all that know me going...huh?

Had a bride to be contact me recently looking for some unique groomsman gifts. She settled on 8 personalized man cave signs done in the groomsmen favorite team colors. This was definitely a creative bride...she not only was looking for a unique thank you but one that had some relevance to the intended gift recipient.



A few Florida Gator fans, University of Maryland, Duke and Pittsburgh.



















The bride that I worked with wedding day is today. Congratulations Elizabeth...May marriage be everything thing that you expected and some things you didn't!

As always you can find these signs and many others in my etsy shoppe.

Creative Genius or Just Teenage Boys?

Now you are probably wondering where I'm going with this blog post. This is Ian, my youngest. From the time Ian was little he loved taking things apart to see how they worked. He is the kind of kid that you didn't leave home alone, cause when you came home the microwave may no longer be just for microwaving...it may now also get few television stations...the vcr probably could fry an egg and or the computer could now do the mambo.....ok you get the idea. Ian loved taking things apart and making them "better"!




Going for a test run.



More tweaking before competing.



So what do you do with a bunch of like minded teenage boys? Well,you form a robotics club. You give them a bunch of metal parts, gears, sprockets, wheels, treads and motors and see what they build. Scarey thought, huh? Well these kids are the future engineers, scientist and inventors.

This was Towson Terminators second competition...their name sounds kind of ominous...brings vision of Arnold Swartzenagger in Terminator to mind for me...anyway back to the competition. I missed the first one due to a 5 day craftshow but I was able to mke this one.



One of the rules to competing is that all team members must be present. This makes sense...we all know for some kids the fun is in the building....well the fun really in is seeing your creation in action.

The competing teams work together. Some may borrow "needed" but missing parts, some obviously lend. In the final part of the competition the teams form alliances and up to 3 robots compete on each side. So many lessons learned here...but shhhh...don't tell the kids!



Talking to the ref..yep there is a ref. His job is to count the balls that remain after the robots compete. The way points are scored is each ball has a set point value and the goal is to get more of the balls on your opponents side of the wall than is on yours. Sounds simple huh? Well depending on how well your robot was thought out, maybe not!



Sometimes things don't go as planned...or mabe they do. A football is going for a ride on the side of the robot.



And if 2 different kinds of balls weren't enough, the last 30 seconds of competing, a large white ball, the size of a volleyball, is introduced to both teams, which needs to be negotiated onto your competitors side of the wall.



All in all the robots were creative, the competition a testament to collaborative working and a good time was had by all....and in the end it keeps my appliances out of harms way!