Family Friday

While cleaning out my closet recently, I came across this old T-shirt that has stuck with me throughout years.  That would be 23 years to be exact. I do believe it is the only article of clothing from the 80's that I still have.  So what is this? This 1988 Ski-Horse Champs T-shirt?  It is a souvenir from a childhood family vacation.

This T-shirt was bought in preparation for our family's vacation in the summer of 1988 to the Lake of the Ozarks.  We loved going to this place that was about 4 hours from our home.  We would stay on the lake and go boating, swimming, and hit the town for go-cart racing and miniature golf.  One of the best parts of boating as a kid was to go on the ski-bob or ski-horse.  This was a torpedo-like inner tube that two riders would sit on and be pulled from the back of the boat.  Us kids always thought we had different techniques for holding on for the longest amount of time possible,etc.  Eventually we would spill though and it would be someone else's turn.  We would often meet up with other families and this meant more kids and more fun.

Well, mainly this T-shirt was fun because my dad and I had them made as a surprise to go along with a "ski-horse championship contest" we were planning.  I am sure there were not many rules. We just called it a championship and said everyone had to try to have the longest time riding the ski-horse.  All five of us kids that year got a different shirt each in a different color.  Somewhere there is a video of us being announced in our shirts with our recorded time. It was a big to-do and just a twist to make the day even more fun.

The other part to this story which is comical now is that our grand plan for the whole thing almost turned out to be a dud.  What happens when a 10-year-old girl and her dad plan on taking surprise T-shirts on vacation?  Well, they forget to pack them of course!  We got all the way there and I realized I left them hiding in my bedroom closet (which in that day was immaculate because I was a neat freak).  Anyways, being a typical 10-year-old, I was devastated.  Dad told mom what was up (if she didn't already secretly know) to explain why I was devastated and so we could call Grandma to ship them to us.  Grandma saved the day and we got our shirts.  I was slightly bratty and crying that dad told mom our surprise (it's okay dad, I get it now being a parent myself). Dad felt bad that I felt bad. But you know what?  It all made for an interesting story later.  We got the shirts, we had a blast, and I smile whenever I see that I still have this little old T-shirt.

I loved going on vacations as a kid, and we are planning our first official one here soon with our daughter Blake.  Of course she may not remember the first one we put on the books, but us adults will.  Finding this shirt was just a nice little reminder of how fun they can be... even when it doesn't go as perfectly as planned. And for the record, Brian and I won that year and it had nothing to do with the fact we were the oldest.  We had real skill and we were the 1988 Ski-Horse Champs!;)

Thoughts for Thursday

Life is all about balance, right?  Here's a list of some "good" and "not the best" (NTB) choices I have made over the past 24 hours......

Dinner of grilled chicken and roasted vegetables = Good
1 hour Zumba class = Good
Bowl of Breyer's Blast Waffle Cone Ice Cream (our fave) = NTB
Breakfast of pancakes = NTB
Morning jog = Good
Can of Chicken Vegetable Soup for lunch = ?

That last one had me stumped.  I think soup is generally good for you.  Chicken and vegetables are good for you.  Although I know most canned items are high in sodium.  How bad is too much salt?  Does it really matter?  So during lunch I googled this mystery on my phone.  I was also in search of the healthiest of canned soups.  The soup I had today is the one pictured in the middle.  According to http://www.sparkpeople.com, my soup did well on their 4 criteria for a healthy soup.  Although mine was 1 gram short on fiber.  They suggested a soup 250 calories or less, 3 grams of fat or less, 3 grams of fiber or more, and less than 600mg of sodium.

Looking further I found on http://www.marksdailyapple.com the answer to my question on salt.  Besides fluid retention, salt directly impacts blood pressure. It also is linked to osteoporosis, asthma, kidney disease and stomach cancer. The worst culprit in most soups though is MSG. Not good stuff.  It can cause headaches, chest pain, rapid heartbeat and drowsiness.

Anyways, thankfully I could keep eating because my soup did not have high sodium or MSG.  However, my soup was not organic... so surely I downed some pesticides... which grosses me out.  People tend to think buying organic is froo-froo, but it is actually just smart.  Although, yes it is a little more expensive and sometimes harder to find.  And yes, our generation did not grow up eating all organic, but the food market is changing.  Why choose pesticides and hormones over organic if given the option?  As I once heard on Oprah, pay more now or pay more at the doc's later in life.  I am getting off on a tangent though and I am no expert in this field.  So anyways, I did have some organic soup on hand.  After comparing labels, I found my organic soups were higher in sodium. Where is the balance?

Enter http://www.livestrong.com.  They did the research and claim the healthiest soup choice is Amy's Kitchen Lentil Vegetable Soup Light in Sodium.  Organic, free of artificial additives and MSG, and lowest in sodium.  It also provides more nutrients than other soups: 7g protein, 8g fiber, 45%RDA of vitamin A, and 20%RDA of vitamin C.

So I am now on the lookout for this soup!  There you have it folks.  Some thoughts on soup for Thursday.  Homemade soup is probably the way to go, but cooking multiple meals a day is another thought for another Thursday.  That's all from this soup nerd.  Have a great Thursday!:)

Wonderful Wednesday

Something I've Found to be Wonderful....

...whether it's a book, idea, product, website, movie, etc.

Did you all already know how to peel a kiwi like this?  Well, I did not.  My life as a kiwi peeler is forever changed.  I cannot take credit so I am going to link you to my source.  Click here at http://www.steamykitchen.com and you can learn this too.  I was skeptical.  I watched their video once and went straight to my fridge.  We do not always have kiwi on hand, but we did the day I saw this.  It's legit.  So easy and kind of fun!  Blake watched me and I think she wanted it because of its fun name.  Now she is requesting kiwi as a snack and I feel like such the cool kiwi cuttin' mom.  I think that is something wonderful to share on this Wednesday.  Hope you learned something new too!

Tasty Tuesday

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I wanted a twist on pizza, and had not made this before myself.  It was a real keeper and fairly easy to make.  I combined these two recipes, Chicken Garlic Pizza and BBQ Chicken Pizza, after consulting my friend Mr. Google. Garlic and BBQ, why not?  In between bites Chad was asking....so when did you..(bite)..think to try this?...(bite)..This is (bite)...so good!  He has pefectly fine table manners normally.  He was just as happy as I was with how good this turned out.  So here is what I did:

1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 pkg Refrigerated Pizza Crust (I used Pillsbury)
1/2 red onion sliced
1 cup of spinach
1 pkg of sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup BBQ Sauce (I used Stubbs original)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

(Read all directions first, there are 2 options with crust)
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Place the chicken breast in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until no longer pink, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken breast and place in a bowl.  Then shred it by pulling it apart with two forks as pictured.


Easy way to shred up some chicken.

3. While chicken is boiling, in a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with garlic, onion and basil.   Pour into a dish to cool, and refrigerate until set.
4. Okay, so I rolled out my pizza dough. 
5. Then topped with garlic butter sauce,
6.  BBQ sauce,
7.  and all other toppings and cheese.  Like I said it was great.  However the crust in the center was just ever so slightly soggy.  My sister made a pizza the next day and read her directions.  With Pillsbury dough it says to cook 5 min, then put on ingredients and bake another 6-10 minutes.  Next time I will try this. Choose which ever way you'd like.
8. If you do it all and then put it in, bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles.
9. Enjoy!  (9 is the new 10 in lists and instructions...this was for you L.N.)

BBQ Garlic Chicken.  We are in love with it!

On A Mission Monday

Last week's mission: My closet.
It was an enter-at-your-own-risk kind of place.


Well, I did it.  Whew!  I have to say it feels good to be in a better place...or a better closet that is.  I am writing to you from it now because I could just live in here.  Just kidding!  The computer would not reach.  I no longer have a bad feeling when I walk into it though.  No more nagging thought of "how bad am I going to let this get?" kind of thing.


We are a military family meaning we move every couple of years.  I have often heard other families say it's great to move at times because it forces you to stay organized.  I've heard you have to stay on top of it, stuff like that.  Well no, you don't really have to do anything.  Although, I do now I agree you should.  The mountain I just climbed will not have to be climbed again. 


Anyways, different moves means different houses.  I love the closet in this particular house because of it's size.  It is a closet/extra storage room for us, and I had been treating it as such.  In fact, I put it off last when unpacking and just never got to a lot of it.  Embarrassing how many things I had stowed away and kept in those boxes.  If I wanted something just out of the way, into my closet it went.  Blah, blah, blah though.  Here are some before and afters!:)

Before:

Please remember the "storage room" part.

Unopened boxes from our move...from a while ago.

After:

Yay!  Boxes gone and closet prettied up!:)

Idea sparked from Pinterest.
Click here to see their idea.
I couldn't find the exact same stuff,
so I glued wine corks to bulletin boards.
(Found these at Michael's for $12.99 each)

I did have a little fun doing this.  I found clothes that I couldn't believe I used to wear.  Some that were super cute, some that had me asking what-was-I-thinking, and all different sizes mixed into those categories. I also found a $15 Starbucks gift card and $6.80 to Kohl's.  It was a nice tip!:)  


My favorite find was this old school pic of Chad and I.  This picture was taken four years before we started dating.  We knew each other back in college while we worked at the same part time job.  I realize I look a little like the joker here with that HUGE smile and red lipstick.  Oh well, it's a keeper.  The photo and the guy.  Little did we know then that we'd be married and moving around from house to house together.  I must say he is wonderful, and...thanks again sweetie for hanging my new jewelry boards this morning!  I love you Chad!:)

Awesome find.  College pic.  Pre-"us".
How did we not know then?;)

Next week's mission:  Take it easy!  No. I have loose ends to tie up with this.  Getting those old clothes out of the house.  I'm going to check out what places would be best to get them to.  Plus, I have a TON of laundry now.  There will still be a mission, but it is a surprise for Chad and he reads this.  So it is a top secret mission this week, but I'll show you next Monday!  


Have a great week everyone!:)

Family Friday

It's not like all we do is visit parks and carousels, but we did get to do that again last weekend.  We took a very last minute trip up to Fresno, CA to visit Rotary Storyland and Playland Park.  It made for an awesome little trip for us all!  The park itself is a little older and could use some maintenance here and there.  However, Blake did not seem to mind.  Here we are taking in some of the sights...

Keeping a close eye on that caterpillar.

Checking out a "real" castle with mommy.

Having fun running around, and
with the slides that shoot off this pirate ship.

Checking out Little Red Riding Hood's
Wolf-like Grandma inside.

Squirming to leave this shack
 and go back to the
 old school merry-go-round behind us.

Quick train ride.

Chugging along and watching some ducks.

Living out her dream for the week:
A return to the horsies!:)
She was all business in this pic though.

We had never been to this place before, and we were pleasantly surprised!  Took a little more than an hour, ~$15 for us three, and included a castle, pirate ship, train ride, carousel and more!  Not too bad!  Also not so sure it'll be topped this weekend.  Oh well, it was fun!  TGIF!!!

Thoughts for Thursdays

Deep thoughts, random thoughts...just some thoughts for Thursday.

A thought I am having for today is that I need to slow down.  Not necessarily in a fast paced lifestyle kind of thing, but literally.  This mama needs to slow down....while driving.  I went 16 years without a single speeding ticket.  Then I got two in the same year.  Ouch!  Not fun.  So today's post is somewhat short because I have to go over to the courthouse with all the other criminals and take care of it.  Blah.  To go along with today's driving theme I found some interesting facts for more food for thought.....


According to eHow.com:
The Early Days
The first speeding tickets were given out in 1902, when the top speed of most cars was around 45 miles per hour.

• Some of the first cars ever made used a pair of levers to steer. Steering wheels weren't introduced for several years.

  Even before the Model T, the first popular American car was the Curved Dash Oldsmobile, which sold new for $650.

  The first car ever produced in America for sale was known as the Duryea. Only one model is known to still exist.

  Before the 1920s, cars didn't have gas gauges. Drivers had to estimate how much fuel was left, or risk running out.

For Drivers

Cleveland was the first city in the United States to get a traffic light in 1914.

• In 1972 the average speed of cars on Los Angeles freeways was 60 miles per hour. Ten years later, the growing traffic problem dropped that number to 17 miles per hour.

  The average American will spend two weeks of her life stopped at red lights.

  To drive on all of the paved roads in the United States, you would have to drive nonstop at 100 miles per hour for over four years.

  The first car insurance policy was issued in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1897.

Miscellaneous
Despite the harm some cars do to the environment, the automobile is actually the most recycled product in the world.

• The first Grand Prix race took place in 1901. Drivers averaged less than 50 miles per hour.

  One out of every seven cars sold in the United States is sold in Southern California.

  The average car contains over 3,000 feet of electrical wires.

  Most car horns have perfect pitch, playing in the note of F.

  Cell phone maker Motorola got its start producing record players for cars. The company's name comes from a combination of "motor" and "Victrola."

  Read more: Funny Facts About Cars | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5280598_funny-cars.html#ixzz1Yi6SmfkK

Okay, off to the courthouse I go...slowly.  Have a great day everyone!

Wonderful Wednesday

Something I've Found to be Wonderful....

...whether it's a book, idea, product, website, movie, etc.

Hmmm...something wonderful this week?  TV. Every night!  I am just so excited this year for the new season of shows to be starting back up.  It's not like I have been a major couch potato years prior, but I am seriously just loving TV this week.  Maybe it is because I have been productive with things after my daughter goes to bed and I now I have a reason to just veg.  Bad, bad, bad week to work on my closet!  Today's post is short so I can get to that challenge while my tot naps.

Any shows out there you all are loving?  My line-up has been....Dancing with the Stars, Parenthood, Up All Night...now comes Modern Family, Grey's, Private Practice....how will I ever get anything done?!

OBTW...negative on the 30 Day Shred.  I did one day.  I have been doing morning jogs and Zumba though so I am not going to beat myself up about it.  This blog has made me more productive than normal, but I think I need to simmer down on shouting out too many goals. I actually have to do them to do them, and I can't keep up.  Closet now.  Shred later.:)

Tasty Tuesday

So again I feel like I am offering such a simple recipe because...
1. I usually make pretty simple meals.
2. I wanted to give you a picture of the meal and we had this last night.

I figure you know that I am not a food blogger.  I also figure I don't have to be a top notch chef or have a show on the Food Network to tell people what I had for dinner.  We all eat, right?  So last night I was stumped and did not want to run to the store for any one single extra ingredient to make anything.  I wanted to use what I had on hand, but it all looked so boring.  I did have some of these tortellini packs....

Always a lifesaver. Ready in 7-9 minutes.

I wanted to do something a little different with these though.  I usually just toss them with pesto, but it wasn't sounding good.  What to do?  Google, of course.  I think every problem big or small can be worked through with God and Google.  So I found a great recipe for a tortellini salad (along with awesome entertaining tips.  Click here to check them out.)  However, I did not have quite the same ingredients as this recipe. It got my wheels spinning though.

Tortellini Vegetable Salad

1. Cook the tortellini as directed.

2. In a separate skillet, sauté:
     Chopped half of a red onion

     Pkg. of mushrooms

     Pkg. of cherry tomatoes

     Small can of chopped black olives

     Small handful of capers

3. After the pasta is done, mix up pasta and vegetables and add a half bag of spinach. Voila.

We topped our individuals bowls with some Parmesan.  Not rocket science, but it was really good.  Maybe this is a standby in your house, maybe not.  It worked last night for us in a pinch, and I'm going to try that other recipe in the future too.  Hope you all have a great day!

I don't think you can mess this one up.  Pretty good for a quick meal!

On a Mission Monday

Okay, so this is my sixth week of blogging with my Monday Missions.  I shout out a project for the week on Monday, and by next Monday I share with you what I did.  Well, this was my first week to not even start my mission.  Ahhh.  Remember how I said cleaning out my closet was a bit like climbing Mt. Everest to me? Well, I didn't even put one foot in front of the other for this climb.  I didn't even buy the gear to prepare for this climb.  I did nothing.  There it is...complete honesty.  I kept putting it off for one reason or another, and  then surprise surprise, it was not a completed mission.  I think it falls into a category that boils down to this saying:

Yes, cleaning my closet just did not seem that important to me this week.  I don't want to just give up though.  I could list all my excuses for not doing it, but I won't ramble on and on.  About an hour ago, I had a toddler who was refusing to take a nap.  I tried many techniques to get her down.  We did several potty breaks.  We pretended her stuffed animals were the ones who needed a nap.  Finally, I laid down on the floor next to her, and it was lights out.  Luckily, it was lights out for her and not me.  Believe me, I struggled with not passing out myself!  All in all though, she is down.  So today I have a sleeping toddler and a messy closet. Hopefully next week I will have a clean closet and (pause) I'd like to keep the toddler napping if possible. :)


So this week's mission: to clean out my freaking closet.  I can do this.  I will not blow it two weeks in a row. So that's all for today.  I'm off to get it started!  Have a great week everyone!

Family Friday

What We've Been Up to Lately...

Well, I honestly kind of have a mental block as to what we have been up to lately.  Ever do that? It's like we are always busy doing something, and then when someone asks, I just draw a blank. How long does pregnancy brain last again?;) Here some shots from the past few weekends. We've been getting out and about. However, it's still really hot here so I am definitely looking forward to cooler weather.  No major plans for the weekend, but it's nice to have a weekend to lay low. I know what Blake wants to do though....ride the downtown carousel! We took her last weekend and she literally has been talking in her sleep about riding the horsies again.  The only downfall is that it makes us parents a little dizzy and then she is just unbelievably sad when it is time to go. Oh well, better to ride a little than to have never ridden at all, huh?:)  Have a great weekend everyone!

We had a lot of fun at Sequoia National Park.
In this pic, Blake is the only one of us looking at the right camera,
 and she has on the most appropriate shoes for a hike.
One of these days her parents will get it together!

We love this cute carousel that runs in the downtown square.

She got to go swimming at a friend's.  Such a little fishy!

I think next summer we'll have to hit a pool more often.
 She kept referring to it as "the ocean".   Ha!
 One trip to the ocean, and now anything bigger than the bathtub is the ocean.
Oh well, lots of years to catch up on pool time!;)

Thoughts for Thursday

What would you do if you won the lottery?  Even if it was just a scratch off ticket?  I had this thought after buying some scratch offs last week from the grocery store.  I guess it would all depend how much money we were talking about.  I actually thought of very un-fun responsible stuff.  You know, covering the basic financial burdens.  Then, I thought of how I would share it with my family.  How I could help others in need possibly.  I wouldn't want to be too greedy with such a blessing, right?  Right?;) Would I be fair?  Would I end up giving it away? Blowing it?  Would Chad and I disagree on how to use it?  I think I was somewhat relieved not to win when I finally scratched the tickets.  Ha! Although I did win a free ticket, so this game is not over. :)


Anyways, I also recently came across this little newspaper clipping of something I wrote in sixth grade.  It was a class assignment to be a newspaper reporter.  My write-up was covering a sixth grader who won the lottery and what this sixth grader did with it.  It struck me as super funny because I actually was very studious when I was younger, and all I write about is the winner getting out of homework, etc.  Just for fun, here is what I wrote....

Sixth-Grader Wins Lottery

Today, a sixth-grade student won the lottery and bought Baldwin School.  Many changes have been made.  Limousines are now taking the kids to school instead of buses.  Soda will now come out of the drinking fountains.  Roller skating is permitted in the gym.  The No. 1 rule is "No more homework!"  There will now be only four hours of school.  Fifteen minutes of school will be spent as study time and the other three hours and forty-five minutes will be recess, parties or other fun activities. This new owner does not want to reveal his name, but whoever he is - he has style!

Haha! Well, for obvious reasons this may crack me up more than you. However, I still think it is fun to see how a kid's mind works.  I am looking forward to seeing what all my daughter's future assignments and creativity will bring.  For now, I just have to remember to go redeem my free ticket.  Maybe I'll hit it big and go for a limo ride...to the roller rink...while sipping soda along the way!;)

Wonderful Wednesdays

Click here to see more about it on Amazon.com

Something I've 

Found to be Wonderful....

...whether it's a book, idea, website, movie, etc.

So my sister told me about this workout video, Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and I've heard many other people talk about it lately.  I think it has real potential to be something wonderful.  I say "potential" because I actually have to do the workout to see the results. Imagine that, huh?  I am smart enough to know the claim of losing "x" amount of weight in "x" amount of days is always a "results may vary" kind of thing.  However, this video has it's appeal.

I bought it, did 3 days, and honestly felt so good about it.  Well, I took one day off and never got back to it!  I want to do this, but I am lacking motivation.  Ugh.  Why can't we more disciplined with even the simplest of things?  This workout video is only 20 minutes...yes only 20 freaking minutes of my day...for the suggested 30 days.  I should be able to do this all year. Just put it in the player and press play, Tasha.


Well, this blog has actually been helping me follow through on goals a little more than my usual.  Sooo...starting tomorrow...ugh...no, today...I am DOING the 30 Day Shred.  There are levels 1, 2, and 3.  Hopefully, by next Wednesday I can report that I am done with level 1 and I will think of some wonderful way to reward myself.  I think along with discipline and accountability, I need incentives.  Wish me luck!  I'm off to shred!

Tasty Tuesday

Here's a recipe I kept hearing about from quite a few people.  I finally gave it a try last night, and I must say it was really good.  You know when your hopes are up for the funniest movie ever though? Or the best movie in a long time kind of thing?  Well, that was kind of this recipe for me.  I think my hopes were up just a little too high to completely agree with what I had heard.  Please don't dismiss it though from my review!  It is really good and really easy.  A different twist on a pasta dish and I will make it again.  It's just the next time I will probably add more of each ingredient to boost the flavor.  I also did add some grated parmesan and would recommend you do the same.  See if it's something you might like....

15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Recipe taken from Oh She Glows
Inspired by My Recipe.org.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

    1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted 

• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish (maybe more next time)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, to taste (I used 2, but I love garlic so I could have added more)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• ~1/4 cup Fresh Basil (again, maybe more next time)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• (don't forget some grated parmesan cheese)

Directions:
1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.

On A Mission Monday

Monday, Monday....so we meet again. Last week's mission was to "spruce" up Blake's room.  I was kind of chicken by describing it this way because I actually had one particular thing in mind....to lengthen her curtains.  Why did I not just say this?  I think because I was unsure if I would do it and like it.  Well, the mission was completed so I should have just said it in the first place!

Okay, so I bought her curtains about a year and a half ago.  I found some that claimed to be room darkening (they dim it I guess) and they happen to be just the perfect shade of pink.  The length was not good, but I wasn't too bothered by them so they stayed.  However, all too often I would think to myself...those curtains are too short.  Well, jump forward to today and I made them longer.  I guess I could have just bought new ones, but I wanted the fun of seeing if I could make the curtains we already have still work.

After googling several different sites for ideas, I found I was not alone.  Many people buy too short of curtains and "fix" them.  You can add fabric and/or ribbons to the bottom, lower your curtain rod, get those curtain clips if you need just a few inches, or even split your curtain's fabric and add fabric in the middle.  Who knew?  Well, most sites called for a sewing machine.  Some said you could use iron bonded tape or a glue gun.  The glue gun sounded easiest to me.

So off to Walmart I went last night (procrastinator) to get some fabric to add to the curtains.  The Walmart here in our town no longer sells fabric!  Waa waa.  There is not even another craft store in this town that does.  Double waa waa.  I was going to give up, but then I thought I wonder if there is anything else that might work....a blanket I could cut up, some sheets, some towels (haha), a tablecloth......that is when I found this:

Oh yeah!  On clearance to $5.00 baby!

This was my answer!  Perfect!  The top portion of the pic, the valance, was just the right length, color, and fabric that I was looking for.  Voila!  Yet also, duh! Window treatments were just the right weight and the top and bottom of this was hemmed.  So I picked up two for $10 total. Then I got a mini glue gun for $5.97 and 100 mini glue sticks also for $5.97 (of which I think I used 4).  Grand total of $21.94 and I have new curtains I love.

I was so excited to get to it that I forgot to take a "before" pic.  Found these to give you an idea of how short they were.  

Last year before Blake was all over the place

Last week when she wanted to see out her window.

So there was a gap of 7" that I wanted to cover up.  The valance is 16".  So measuring up 8" from the bottom I simply hot glued carefully the valance to the curtain.  One valance to each individual panel. I glued just along some dashes I marked at the 8"up line.  The valance was too wide on either side so I just wrapped the extra fabric back and hot glued it to the back of the curtain.  No scissors even required.  

Wrapping the extra fabric to the back to be glued on.

I was going to add some polka dotted ribbon along the bottom and top of the curtain, but then decided against it.  I liked it just how it was.  Here are some "after" pics.....

They are exactly what I imagined.
The valances made it even easier than a fabric swatch would have been.

Looking out her window again this morning.
This stool isn't always there, but there is construction going on across the street.
Free entertainment with the trucks, etc. :)

So another Monday Mission complete! They actually serve their purpose just fine and I like how they look.  Surely hot glue doesn't make for the highest quality, but they don't have to last us forever either.  Okay, so I'm feeling guilty about tiptoeing around announcing my last week's mission.  So this week I'm going to get brave.  Sigh.  I need to clean out my closet.  My bedroom closet.  It's BAD.  A real mess.  It feels like I am setting out to climb Mt. Everest.  Although if I had to do that, I'd prefer to just clean out my closet.  My husband has fallen over now at this part of my blog if he read all the way to the end.  Haha!  Wish me luck and happy Monday!:)