Autumn is here in all its Glory!

Hi all.  Autumn is here with its crisp air, the smell of marshmallows roasting on fire, apple cider, caramel apples, cozying up to the fireplace and of course all the beautiful trees in their spectacular colors!  I feel so alive in the fall, I don't know what it is about it that wakes me up from my summer slumber.  I am hopeful again and happy.  My situation hasn't changed much.  There is one bright spot.....I got a part-time job working from home.  It's not too many hours but I am not complaining at all, it is income coming in and that is ALWAYS a good thing, especially these days with the economy the way it is.  I'm banking on God to find a solution to our woes since he is the only one who can provide my family with the miracle it needs.  I give him all my praise and thanks!

My new hobby, quilting, is sorta taking over and I've neglected my soaping.  Fact is though that I am out of a few supplies and just can't afford them right now but soon, hopefully, I'll get back into my soaping groove.  Until then I am a quilting loony.  I'm constantly thinking of who I can make one for, and what kind of design they might like, or colors and what fabrics, size, etc.  It is quite maddening sometimes.  I've got 3 projects going on at the same time right now.  I'm making a super cute lap quilt for my sister Maria which I will post here as soon as I finish it.  And also one for my hubby which I really like.  Thank goodness for my hobbies, they keep me grounded and sane. :-)

Gonna share a few pics with you.  The first one is my husband who turned the big 5 0 in August.  I can hardly believe it!!  I'm not there yet but will be soon.  The other pics are of a beautiful fall night where my husband, son and myself went into our backyard and burned bunches of personal docs and papers.  And took the opportunity to roast marshmallows too of course....YUM.  Hope to post again soon....in the meantime, happy autumn everyone!

The very latest in my soaps....

Just thought I'd post a pic of the soap I made last night.  It's been a while since I've made any so I'm excited to start rolling with it again.  Here's a pic.....hope you like it

Need prayers and a miracle

Today is a Monday...already bad....and we are nearing the end of the summer. I STILL have no full time job.  I just don't know what to do anymore.  I've applied to so many places and NOTHING.  I've started to declutter my house because we will have to sell, we can no longer afford the mortgage on this house since I am not working.  I am so sad about all of this.  We also have no health insurance and are in debt to our eyeballs.  It just keeps getting worse and worse.  We need a miracle.  For those of you who may by chance come across my blog, kindly say a prayer for my family and for an end to our financial crisis.  We would greatly appreciate it!!

My Papi's Apron

Growing up my mom was the only one who did all the cooking and she was a great cook! After my parents retired, my mom decided she didn't really want to be cooking every day anymore so my dad (I call him Papi, the way Cuban kids call their dad) took over. Lo and behold, and who ever knew, my dad was such a good cook???? All those years....and we never knew he had this hidden talent. His meals are mouth watering good and now my mother gets to enjoy all his cooking and his experiments, which all turn out divine. So, since my dad is almost impossible to buy anything for, I thought this would be the perfect gift for his b-day (which was a few months ago..I'm a little late...forever the procrastinator). It's not perfect by any means, I used no pattern, I just sort of made it as I went, but there is my love in every stitch :) Here are a few pics:

A lap quilt made with love

Hi everyone, I won't be writing too much because my index finger on my right hand is all bandaged up from a nasty cut and I can't type with it so it's hard to type too much.  Just wanted to share a pic of a guardian angel lap quilt and matching tote I made for my mom.  I hope she likes them!!  I'll post soon, I promise....

Lentils Anyone?

Hi everybody, hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4 holiday. I did the grilling thingy, you know, chicken and burgers on the grill, with a baked potato and corn on the cob. Every thing turned out yummy according to hubby and son so that makes me happy. I also made a homemade salsa which also came out fresh and delicious :-)

A couple of nights ago I made some Chicken Milanese and Lentils. The lentils were made my way, using my own made up recipe and they came out really good. And I honestly think that they are even better on day 2. Once all the flavors have had ample time to morph together...that's when the yumminess of it all kicks in. Not to say that day 1 is bad, just saying that day 2 is better. Anyway, with that said, I thought I'd share my Recipe with anyone out there wanting to make Lentils a little differently than their own way. These are approximate measurements since I just throw stuff in w/out measuring.

Sibi's Own Lentils

1/2 bag of Lentils
1 whole onion (finely chopped)
1/2 green pepper (finely chopped)
approx. 2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 small can of tomato sauce
4 slices swiss cheese

Cook the Lentils in medium high heat in a pot with plenty of water until fully cooked (approximately 45 min. or so).  Keep an eye on the water because the it will keep evaporating and you'll need to add more, you don't want to burn the lentils.  After 30 minutes I usually have a taste to see if they are done.  In the meantime you are going to make a sofrito to go into the lentils.  In a frying pan place enough oil to start frying the onions, green peppers and minced garlic.  Add paprika, oregano and 2 bay leaves to the onion mixture.  Sautee until onions and green peppers are nice and soft.  When the lentils are done there should be a little water in the pot but it should not exceed the amount of lentils.  Add sofrito to the lentils and cook on medium/low heat.  Add tomato sauce, swiss cheese, salt and pepper (to taste).  Let simmer on low for approximately 15 minutes then serve.  They taste great over rice.

Optional:  If you love bacon I also make them using bacon.  I'll cook the bacon together with the onion sofrito (no need for olive oil, there's plenty of grease in the bacon) and when done, throw all of it in the lentils when lentils are done.  Happy eating!

Here's a pic of my lentils with chicken:

Been a long time!

I cannot believe that I have not posted for over a year....what a drag.  I wanted to use this blog as a diary of sorts for my soapmaking journey and I've failed miserably.  Well, what can I say, life happens.  I'll try to keep it updated more frequently.  I've learned so much more about soaping it is amazing!!  And I've made some really cool soaps since the last time I blogged.  I think that from time to time I will also use this blog to post my own food recipes and/or recipes I've tried and have really liked.  Sharing is always a good thing, right?

As far as my personal life, not much has happened really since the last time I posted.  I'm still in search of a permanent job.  It sure is hard out there.....wish me luck, I will certainly need it...I'm going on 2 years w/out steady work.  I've worked a couple of temp jobs but I need something permanent.  So I put my faith in God's hands, he will look after my family and I and aid me in finding work.

I'm going to take this opportunity to post some of the soaps I've made throughout this past year.  And I promise I'll be posting soon.

I've also picked up another hobby...sort of anyway. I've always been intrigued with quilting. I find them to be so beautiful and made with so much care and love, and that's what I like. The planning, execution and love that goes into every quilt made. For my son's b-day this year I made him 2 things, a rag quilt and a b-day cake...here's a pic of both:

Here's a pic of the quilt I made for my mom:



My newest Soap scented with Aspen Forest

Howdy everyone.  Just finished sending my taxes to my dad to take care of for me...thanks Dad!  I hate tax time!  I'm hanging in there, STILL looking for work.  I really didn't think it would take me this long.  I just hope it comes real soon or we're in some deep poop.  I'll remain optimistic though and hopefully some good vibes will make it happen.  I made a new batch of soap a week ago and rather than let it gel I popped it in the fridge.  I am sick and tired of all my soaps ashing on me so I decided to stick it in the fridge right after making it and guess what.....NO ash!!!  Yippeee, hooray!  From now on that's how I'm going to do it.  Here's a pic:

Spring is almost here!!

Hello everyone!  Well, the snow is almost gone and Spring is almost upon us.  Thanks goodness, I am tired of the snow and overcast days, I want some sunshine!

I'm still searching for work and hoping that something comes up real soon.  In the meantime I am trying to lose some weight and cutting back on my smoking.  I also made a batch of soap a couple of days ago and wanted to post a pic.  Not to happy with the way it turned out but let's see what happens once it's cured for a bit.  The colors are actually quite pretty. Here it is:

Snowed in

We were snowed in yet again.  After getting 25 inches dumped last weekend, we got another 5-10 inches today.  And what is worse are the blowing 60mph winds which are causing huge snowdrifts everywhere.  Unless you have a 4 wheel drive there is no use in even venturing out there cause you WILL get stuck. So I spent my day making my son's b-day cake.  He is 14....a teenager...yikes!  I hope our battles will be few and far between, otherwise I may lose my mind.  One day at a time.....

So here's a pic of the cake.  It did not turn out very well but I'm not a baker so he knows I put in the effort and that's all that counts. There's a little boy on top of the cake which you can't see too well but it's there.