Welcome

I got out my crafting supplies!!!!

(Patrick loves it when I drag all my boxes and bags of crafting supplies onto the living room floor and get messy, leaving my scraps scattered for days and whining when one of the dogs take off with my ball of yarn and unravels the entire thing under the bed, while refusing to take the blame for it. He just lives for it.........not really, if you could imagine.)

So I have been itching to make a yarn wreath for a while. Nothing says, "Welcome to our cozy home, feel  free to admire my craftiness," like a homemade yarn wreath!!

Here's what you'll need to get started:

• A wrap-able wreath (You can use straw, but I chose foam that is flat on each side because (1) it would fit perfectly between our entry door and glass door, (2) the foam is a more even, flat surface with a little bit of stickiness to it, to hold the yarn in place better, and (3) I thought it'd be easier to change designs with it, as I'll explain later.)
• Your choice of yarn (It actually took 1.5 rolls of yarn, good thing I always buy too much! Remember, the thinner the yarn, the more wrapping to do!)
• Scissors
• Push Pins (I chose the T-shaped kind so I could find them easily when I wanted to rearrange things.)
• Whatever embellishments you choose to decorate your wreath with (I chose burlap and buttons, to make vintage flowers, a few feathers I got on sale, and lace ribbon to tie in bow.)

If Making Your Own Burlap Flowers:

• Burlap (Color of your choice, you can be the messiest with the pale cream color, because the glue gun work doesn't show.)
• Glue gun 
• Scissors (You're going to struggle hard core if they aren't sharp.)
• Buttons (optional)
• Need and Thread (if using buttons)

• Dog paw not required for either project

 Start by securing the yarn in a snug knot around the wreath.

Then start wrapping until it's completely covered.
The less perfectly the yarn is aligned, the better, so I stretched out a couple of inches from my solid yarn, fill in the space by speratically  looping it snuggly around the wreath, then repeat until you meet your starting point.
When you are finished, just tie another not in the yarn, the same way you started.

 Then add your embellishments.
I hot glued some burlap flowers (deciding against using the red, because it started to look like 4th of July decorations), the more rugged the better, then strategically pined them on with the T-pins. If I didn't like how it looked, I pulled out the pin and started over.

Burlap Flower Version 1:
 Cut a 3-4 squares of burlap, you can make them as big as you want your flower to be.
Take a square and fold in half, corner to corner.
Fold that in half.
Fold that in half again.
Cut the big end in a curved shape (it will kind of look like an ice-cream cone.) Repeat with each square.
In one square, make a cut in the crevice of  a petal and stop at the center of the flower. Piece the flower back together and glue it in place.
In the second square, cut out a whole petal, stopping at the center of the flower. Piece the flower back together and glue in place.
In the third square, cut out 2 petals, stopping at the center of the flower. Piece the flower back together and glue in place.
Leave one square untouched.
Place all the flower pieces on top of each other, in ascending order and secure together with needle and thread.
Then sew on the button!

Burlap Flower Version 2 (works great with fabric too!):
For a 1 inch tall flower, cut a strip of burlap 2 inches wide and about 24 inches long. (This is not an exact science, it could be longer, or shorter if you like. Cut the fabric wider for a taller flower.)
Fold the burlap in half length-wise and start rolling and gluing.
Keep rolling and gluing until the entire strip is......for lack of better words, rolled and glued.
Don't be scared of all the frayed pieces, it adds character to your flower!!

Burlap Flower Version 3 (works great with felt too!):
Cut a large circle, diameter roughly 4 inches. (Again, the bigger or smaller the circle will determine the size of your flower.)
Then cut into the circle, spiraling your way in, until you reach the center.
Start winding the strip together in it's nature curved nature, layering each outer layer a little further out than the last and gluing it in place.
Glue the last little tail to the bottom of the flower as a base.
Leave as is, or glue a button in the center!

Burlap Flower Version 4:
Do exactly like Flower Version 2, except twist and turn the fabric, playing with it's length and shape, while gluing it.


To be honest, I'm far too lazy to take you step by step with with flowers by pictures, because it would take about a million.....and there about a half trillion ways to make them, depending on the style you're wanting to create, and the time you're wanting to invest. I'd be happy show anyone in person, but until then, here are a few sites that aren't as lazy as me!!
Snug as a Bug Baby
Craft Aholics Anonymous
La Belle Bride

The feathers are secured by tying them in place under the flowers with the same color yarn I used to wrap the wreath, so they are perfectly removable if I ever choose to change it's style!!!

Then I tied a lace ribbon bow around the wreath and put it out for the world to admire!!!

(So you see why I used the T-pins, right? So I can add and remove embellishments as I please to change the scheme of the wreath. It's called getting the most for your time and money, baby!!!!)

Have you done anything creative lately?

Bold and Fresh Chicken Salad: Wallah

When Summer-time hits, it's absolutely necessary to add some chicken salad to your life. And it just so happens, I make delicious chicken salad. 

I've made it for a couple of occasions so far this year, and have gotten so many OOO's and AAAA's over it, I thought maybe I'd share my secret. 

Ingredients:

• 3 Chicken Breast, thawed, boiled in water, then chopped
• 4-5 Eggs, hard boiled, then chopped
• 1-2 Gala Apples, chopped with skin on
• 1 package of Honey Roasted Sliced Almonds
• Sour Cream
• Mayonnaise
• 1/2-3/4 package Ranch Dressing Mix
• Garlic Powder
• Black Pepper

Directions:

Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl (adjusting number of eggs and apples per size and preference). Then add your sour cream and mayo, half and half proportions to desired consistency (I believe this is crucial to flavor, but completely personal). To finish, add the last 3 ingredients, seasoning to taste. 

WAL-LAH!!!

Now you have a bold but refreshing chicken salad ready to lighten up anyone's day with lettuce wraps, as I featured above, on crackers, made into a sandwich, my husband's favorite.............or just straight from the spoon, as I caught my mom devouring it a couple of weekends ago!

What's your favorite way to eat chicken salad? Do you have a special ingredient?

Red White And Blue

Even though I missed out on Independence Day fireworks, we still had a chance to celebrate with some friends the day before. Ale and I had some fun in the sun with my girl Krystal, catching up on baby talk and everything in-between. 

Then we gathered at Cristina and Jon's house to grill hamburgers, munch on homemade chips and salsa, and drool into our bowls of homemade banana ice-cream, American Classics. Dang we are a group of good cooks.
I didn't do a great job of breaking out the camera, since I was a stranger to over half the people there, and didn't want to be the creepy person taking pictures of a bunch of people I don't know, but think we got some goodies. 

You can tell we're good friends, because Cristina, me, and Ale wore red, blue and white!!! What a perfect color scheme for the occasion. And here's great example of the depths of our friendship:

Cristina Farrar i think i should win in the most patriotic..... :P

Kayla Evans-Carruth I have red hair and a blue shirt on....and white teeth....so I'm calling it a tie

Cristina Farrar BUT i have star earrings on...

Kayla Evans-Carruth o0o0o0, well I have multiple stars tattooed on my right foot that are there forever, AND the feathers on my earrings were gathered legally from a deceased bald eagle who died of natural causes, the nation's bird.

Cristina Farrar BSSSSSS

Cristina Farrar you killed that bald eagle!!

Ale Albritton Haha I should win the least patriotic! But that's cause I had a major wardrobe melt down that morning haha!

Kayla Evans-Carruth No Ale, we need you. You are the white cement that holds us together. And what would America be like without a little sparkle???

Another classic, is Patrick's produce in the crotch pose. I think it's becoming his trademark. He may have made the stranger on his left a little uncomfortable.......but it was all in good fun.....and if you cross your eyes a little bit and look at the picture in just the right angle, it kinda looks like Jon's pants are blurred out, for confidentiality. 
As an afterthought, I guess we should have taken that banana home with us. 


*Note: No birds were harmed in the making of this blog, especially not bald eagles.* 



How did you celebrate our country's independence?

The Difference of a Day

Isn't it amazing how some days you struggle to just move, and others you might as well be the super hero version of yourself?

July 3rd, I had one of those amazingly strong days. First, I consistently pulled 200 to 256 watts on the spin bike with my RPM's around 90. Since I zone train with my Heart Monitor on, in the past I've never been able to spin with that amount of weight at that speed and maintain an aerobic state. I was tired, but smiling, just for the feat. Second, during the yoga class following my super strong spin workout, I held crow pose for the first time in the history of my practice!! For a year, I've been trying to get into this pose; what a breakthrough moment!!

This is obviously not me, but it is crow pose, and I'm confident that I looked just as impressive as her while holding mine for the first time, but seriously three different people fell....thud....to the ground....during this class of balancing techniques and I was just glad I wasn't one of them. 

I mentioned the exact date, because two very important things happened on July 4th, other than our country's celebration of freedom, of course. 

One, the momma bird that is murdering my plant and attacked my husband's head, finally has two hatched baby birds. This explains why when I tried to water the plant a couple of days prior, instead of flying away, she stood up, flapping her feathers at me, and gave me an extra evil eye. Hopefully soon they will fly the coop, and I can nurse my plant back to life. 

Second, I broke my record for not throwing up since the night I turned 21. That was almost 7 years ago; not quite as long as Jerry Seinfeld's streak, but still impressive. Sparing the gruesome details for those faint of heart, I was very sick, and Patrick threatened to take me to the hospital several times. It's a big deal to him when I don't talk.....and moaning is about all the verbiage that escaped my mouth the entire day. Luckily it only lasted for 24 hours and Patrick had the day off to take care of me, but unfortunately I never made it off the bathroom floor to see any fireworks, and he cooked the most wonderful smelling ribs I couldn't eat.....and then he ate every bite, not saving me a single one.....

Source: someecards.com via kpLOVE on Pinterest

It's always hard getting back to feeling so strong, after such a physical beat down.

What a difference a day can make: from feeling on top of the world, to feeling like I was going to die.....and now back to rebuilding again.  

What's that thing called....Murphy's Law???

P.S. Patrick felt so bad about eating all the ribs, after I pointed out to him how rude it was, he made me more a couple of days later, when I was back to my usual iron stomach self. 

If you practice yoga, what move are you currently working on being successful at?  

Work Hard, Play Hard

Source: youknowyoureatexanwhen.tumblr.com via kpLOVE on Pinterest

I thoroughly enjoy having a few days off in a row; it gives me the energy to live every day to the fullest. Like going to two classes in a row at my gym. Spin, followed by Yoga. My favorite combination......now if that particular instructor would just acquire some better taste in music.....my day would have been 100% amazing. It kills me to listen to music without a melody line, especially when it's for consecutive classes! It's like a fitness crime!  Oh yes, and I still had time to take the puppies on a run. Love to make them happy!

 Even though the temp's are stuck in "Hell", we thought it'd be nice to try out the most popular Tex-Mex joint in The Colony, sit on the patio to enjoy the lake front view, and hope the ceiling fans made the heat tolerable.

 Actually, I thought it was pretty great......until the sun started setting directly in my face at exactly the same time my jalapeno stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon arrived. Eating my spicy hot plate at that moment definitely made me start sweating bullets, or maybe rivers; Patrick kept wiping my face off with his napkin. Oh yes, I'm sexy like that. 

BJ (Jessica and Bobby), and my brother came to join us, for the jolly good time. 

After dinner we went back home to get the kids and headed over to BJ's for a chocolate chip cookie and tequila party!!

 But first we had to get serious, about fashion, after noticing Jessica's purse matched Patrick's purple shirt..... although I'm pretty sure Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear would be pretty disappointed in our 80's "matching" theory. It's all about "coordinating" now. 

And then we had to reenact a scene that never happened from the Incredible Hulk, after spotting these ridiculous green fists on the front of this ridiculous looking truck.....but ever so quickly, so no one would notice how ridiculously weird we are.

Patrick and Bobby are two peas in a pod, never a serious moment, like when Bobby-B came back from the bathroom and had toilet paper hanging from shorts. 

Oh, and how they love to sing together......

And then we had a small kitchen dance.....I took Sumo as my partner. I'm pretty sure by the look on his face, he wasn't enjoying it as much as me.

After a single shot of tequila, a lot of chocolate chip cookies, and tons of laughs later, it was finally time for bed.

Work hard to play hard. 
Enough said.


Do you have a favorite type of workout music?? Do you ever see strange things in the public and stop to pose with them? What's the last new restaurant you tried?

I Hit the Junkpot!

Oh. My. Goodness. 

Sometimes on my days off, I take a different route to my destination, just to discover new things.

Remember when I asked my family to come visit me so we could go shopping at the huge flee market that only happens once a month, and I sent them up here on the wrong weekend?!?! Well I wish I'd known, that day, about this amazing place I found this week: Frisco Mercantile. It is basically a mini-indoor flee market/antique store!!

That's the cool thing about living in the Metroplex. It doesn't matter how long you've lived here, there are always super rad things waiting to be discovered. 

I just said, "Super Rad". 

Just look at the stuff I didn't actually need, but was screaming to be adopted to a good home by someone who would appreciate it's awesome-ness!!!! 

I know. I just said, "Awesome-ness", and insinuated inanimate objects have feelings. At least "Rad" is actually a real abbreviated word. 

Cobalt blue glass juicer....

 Magnets made from recycled metal and old silverware....

A red oil lantern and old wooden clog......I'm thinking of planting a little succulent cactus in the clog. 

The most adorable yellow stackable teapot set..... I absolutely love it's random quirkiness sitting atop my brassy goldfish. 

And while walking the dogs around the neighborhood, I came across a yard sale........I was able to gather the tools there to start some of the projects I've saved for myself on Pinterest!!! Not to mention, but I'll brag anyway, I couldn't resist this vintage mirror for the bargain price of $4. It adds the perfect bohemian quality to my mantel!!

I didn't purchase this, but did tease Patrick about finding him a mower for $25, since he currently keeps the entire yard groomed with a weed-eater.

And then there was this thing....which got a lot of feed back to my question on Facebook: Creepy or Cute? Turns out most people thought it was plum creepy, which probably isn't the exact feel it's designer intended, but I thought it would be perfect to put on our front porch to scare away burglars and small soliciting childern. Don't worry, I didn't buy it either. 

Do you make a point to discover new things in your area, or just stay content with what you know? 

Wow, Did THAT Really Just Happen?

Okay, so I gave a itty bitty tiny short run at pretending to be a mother. Apparently, since the kid almost drown, merely 10 minutes into the whole gig, I have some room for growth.
See.....what had happened was.......
I took for granted how tricky a 3 year old boy can be, masked by his blue eyed charm and initial sweetness.
One minute I was wading in the water with my workout pants rolled up to my knees, self proclaiming my legitimate reasons why I couldn't "go swimming with him", and 5 seconds later, he purposefully stepped off the 6'' deep water ledge into the 3' 6'' water, and I watched him sink to the bottom of the pool, like a rock, without so much as a nervous twitch of an effort to float or swim. The ironic part was we were there for his last day of swimming lessons......
I found myself diving into the pool, fully clothed, to save his life. As I lifted him to safety, the look on his face gave away things may not have gone exactly as he planned,  which all made sense after I talked to his mom later that day, and discovered he usually wears a shirt with built-in flotation devices.
Light bulb moment. 
So I stared my day soaking wet with no change of clothes.......but alas, another small life saved.......I managed to get fully dry just in time for hot yoga, leaving somewhere drenched for the second time in one day, the latter being under my own terms and conditions. 
And then there was that time, shortly after, when a teenager had to show me how to use a booster seat......... I wonder if his school secretary was curious as to why I was wearing soaking wet clothes? Sigh.

(Above is him, all set up in his booster, playing with everything mobile in my car....my umbrella with a flashlight on the end {that didn't work, he informed me}...and my very cool Buddy Holly S.G.'s......)

I couldn't help but laugh at the conversation that transpired between our men over the incident.

Pat Carruthposted toRyan White

8 hours ago

Hey. When saving you son in the pool last week, my wife got her clothes wet. Those were special clothes I purchased from India and they were worth a lot of money. You now owe us $100,000. Next time we come visit you can just gimme a check. That should do.

 · 

• • 
    

    Ryan White Can I just give you the kid instead?
    

    8 hours ago via mobile · 
  • 
    

    Pat Carruth That might work as long as you pay for college, car, and wedding. We can handle the rest.
    

    8 hours ago · 
  • 
    

    Ryan White I am okay with him not going to college, and he is the boy so the wedding should be not expensive. As far as the car goes he just got some hot wheels for his birthday. I think you have yourself a deal.
    

    8 hours ago via mobile · 
  • 
    

    Kayla Evans-Carruth Haha. Oh you boys.....
    

    2 hours ago · 

All ready to move in, he says.....

 All mishaps aside, me and my girls had a great pool day last week with time to dawn appropriate water wardrobe first.

I should really work on my lady-like posing.

FYI, Buffalo Hot Wing flavored Snyder pretzels, fresh cherries, and an ice cold wheat beer from a hospital sippy-cup is a fabulous pool snack combo!!!

P.S. Happy Independence Day; have a safe one!!! No drowning, you hear?!?!? And a big thanks to those who have risked or sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom. 




What do you think.....I'll get better at this one day, right?

What Do Toes and Communication Have in Common?

Let's take a stereo type test, shall we? Based on the toenail size of the two feet pictured below, which foot do you think belongs to the bigger person? Purple (left), or Blue (right)?

Ahhh......

Mis-communication...... Misconception......

They exist among us in abundance, which is probably why they make us take so many classes beating us over the head with a stick, teaching the same lessons of how to talk to people while not passing preconceived or misguided judgement. 

My point is, despite our hectic lifestyles, it's important to take the time to make sure the people in our life are adequately informed. Technology can make or break this, tread carefully.

But you can over-communicate, my friends. Like when a random lady told me last week at the park that my dogs were too little to be running with me. Mind your own beeswax lady. Just because they are small doesn't mean they couldn't out run anyone you know any day, as long as the weather is nice and the distance is <5 miles. Besides, they BEGGED me to go on this run. 

Just in the last two weeks, due to lack of adequate communication or misuse of technology, these things happened:

•  I accidentally left a friend abandoned at a park instead of meeting for our morning run....
• A friend didn't make it to our lake trip because he thought we stood him up.....
• Something else happened that I can't remember, because I forget things easily, which is why I have to document my life via blog....
• I almost got stood up to a pedicure date, but she ended up showing 30 minutes late....

We've got to do better. 

P.S. The long toes with nubby nails belong to me, ranking in at 5' 7.5''. The record size toenails belong to my tiny friend who measures in at a whopping 4' 11''. We laughed so hard at the difference in our toenail sizes that we almost cried. Actually I really did cry, because I'm extremely jealous that she runs just as much as me and still has toenails.....half of mine are merely painted skin....and it didn't help that the nail-guy tried to make me feel better by saying he is missing his pinky toenail. No one cares about guy toenails. 

How do you think you rank on communication skills? If you are a runner, please share, how many toenails are you lucky enough to still have? Did you get the toenail question correct?

From Beautiful to Scary and Back Again

Wow. 

I had some inquiries on my brief absence the last few days. As it turns out, sometimes life happens so fast, I don't have time to write about it!! But it makes my heart smile to know the virtual world misses me when I'm gone. 

Back to our short weekend at the lake, my parents took me trot-lining for the first time. To my surprise, after talking to some city folk around here, trot-lining isn't exactly an expression every person in the world is familiar with............
So how about I walk you through my experience!?!?!

First we went to a little cove in the lake, and tossed the net out a few times to catch some fresh bate. My dad was super pleased with our findings, since last time he went bate fishing, he said he had to fish his arm out of the water when he was finished. (Get it? Because his arm fell off.......because it was so tired..........)
Does it make me a wimp that I actually felt bad for the bait fish's imminent death?

Then we slowly made our way through the Black Forest, a scary part of the lake occupied by a drowned forest. It's easy to see the gigantic trees stretching their limbs towards the sky, but the danger lies in the rest of the forest, submerged beneath the surface of the green waters, invisible to the unsuspecting eye. 

My parent's fishing boat has a GPS, so they have warning to where the danger starts, but those unfamiliar with the lake and without such technology can easily find themselves stranded with a tore-up motor or stuck on a tree they didn't know to look for. Even with such systems, someone has to sit at the front of the boat to watch for stumps.....we hit a few, but nothing too drastic. 

After picking the perfect spot, close to the cove, we laid out our line, securing it in a triangle around three trees. Floating empty plastic jugs label our claim to the line, and every foot or so there is a extension hanging from the main string with a dangling hook. 

And then we went back to camp to cook dinner, waiting for dusk. Apparently, all the big catfish wait to feed at night. 

A beautiful day transitioned to an even more beautiful sunset. The water had calmed and the boat slid over the lake like it was coasting through butter......smooth.  

Even though I know in my heart nature is dangerous, it's something I rarely think about when everything appears majestic. But when night falls, and the after dark creatures come out to play, an eerie mood conquers the playfulness of daytime. 

The sun had set by the time we made it to the edge of the Black Forest, so we relied on a flash light and my mom's terrible night vision to get us safely to our trot line. 

The air was still, except the quiet hum of the trolling motor, the fiesta going on across the lake at a camp ground, and the little sporadic bursts of colorful fireworks in the far distance. We were alone on the lake, if you don't count the several terrifying gars we spotted gliding their way beside the boat, the amazing amount of spiders creeping all over the trees (my mom and I got into a deep theoretical conversation, contemplating ways the spiders ever made it so far across water to reach the trees), and their dinner, aka the hellacious flocks of bugs, swarming around our flashlight.....  

My dad actually expected us to grab this tree while he was baiting the lines.......Excuse me??? Have you lost your mind?

On the ride back to shore, I focused on forgetting how creepy mother nature can be, instead appreciating the wind in my face and the pure pleasure of being able to map out constellations. I love living in the city, but never stop missing the stars. Where I grew up, you could see so many shining balls of fire at night, it didn't look real. 

The next thing I remember is my mom waking me up to push me out the door. My dad already had the truck running, so had I no choice but to grab my coffee and breakfast on the go, and embrace my natural "beauty" with my eyes half open and my hair looking unbelievably awesome, in the name of fishing. 

With the sun on the rise, all nocturnal creepers had gone back to hiding, making it an easy transition, pretending the lake was my harmless playground once again. 

Checking the lines was a bit of a disappointment. Nothing left but catfish slime (so much, it looked like we needed to call the Ghostbusters to come handle the situation) and empty hooks........and 2 baby catfish we threw back. But that's the thing about fishing, just like Forest says, "You never know what you're gonna get."

Placid and peaceful. It's very cool to me that in the right setting, even dead things can seem elegant. 

Have you ever been trot-lining before? What's your favorite thing to do at the lake?