Our Journey...

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Monday, June 20, 2011

Bird Rescue 101

So, we had some friends over to my parents house on Saturday night.  Grilled up some steaks... roasted marshmallows, that whole thing.  My parent's have a small "Fire pit"... well, not really a pit, but it's a thing you put fire in.  Ha ha!  We had moved that thing out onto the lawn and were all sitting around it watching Sam eat the biggest smore I have ever seen!  We called it the "Big Mac" smore.  Which consisted of, 3 full graham cracker, 2 jumbo marshmallows, and 2 big squares of chocolate.  It was huge!

My dog Maggie was out in the yard as well. She spent most of her time just lying down by the group, but she would get bored and wander the yard every once and a while.  I happened to be watching her as she headed over by the west side of the house.  I see her pick something up and begin trotting back out into the middle of the yard.  She dropped whatever it was she had.  I thought to myself, "That's pretty big... what is it..?"  Then it moved!  It was trying to get away from Maggie and she was following close behind and picked it up again.  Don't worry, by this time, I'm running, screaming and waving my arms, to get Maggie to get away from whatever it was.  When I get close I see that it's a baby bird!!  I'm freaking out now.  I don't want a bird to die at the hands of my dog!  I turned away to chase Maggie away and when I turned back I couldn't find it....

I ran frantically around the area searching for the bird, which I finally found over by one of the big trees in the yard.  It's left wing was kind of open out sideways.   I feared the worst.  I was going to pick it up but I was afraid of hurting it, as well as getting some weird disease. Cameron came over and said that I could just pick it up since it was still alive.  I yelled to Houston to go grab some gloves anyway.  When he got over I just let him do the catching, as I held the flashlight. 

Lets just say, this bird was not very happy about getting picked up.  It started squawking, and flailing.  Houston ended up dropping it.  It was trying to get away with Houston in hot pursuit!  Maggie saw it again.  "I'm gonna get it this time," was the look on her face.  I start screaming and chasing her away.  I ran back to where the bird was.  Not only was the bird in a panic, so was it's mother.  She was flying all around and making the most frantic noises.  I finally got the idea to grab a bucket and try to get it into that, but by the time I got back, Houston had gotten it safely into his cupped hands.  P. S.  Sam, Cameron, and Justin  had gotten Maggie into the house after I chased her that second time.

Now what to do with it..?  I knew where it's nest had to be because I had seen Maggie staring up into the tree it was in with that frantic sound coming from above.  So we headed that way.  We couldn't get it back to the nest, but I figured we could at least set it on a branch so Maggie couldn't reach it. When we got it onto the branch we checked it out and that wing that I thought was broken wasn't (Thank goodness!) 

I was so worried about it.  I didn't want the bird to die of stress or something.  I had to let the dogs out again before bed but I was not about to let Maggie find the birds location.  So my plan was to stand over by that end of the yard and not let her over.  When I let her and Hanna out, sure enough, Maggie goes running for the tree where we had found the bird during the chase.  She followed the scent of where the bird had gone while Houston was trying to catch it.  Once it got to the point where it was picked up she got really confused.  She had lost the scent.  I did check to see if the bird was still there, and it was. 

Yesterday morning was kept wondering if I should feed it or something.  I should mention that it wasn't a tiny baby.  some of it's big feathers were coming in.  So, I thought maybe I could find a worm or something and feed it.  I decided to look it up.  Good thing I did!  This is what I read....Help.... I Found A Baby Bird!

This was perfect!  The bird was a fledgling.  So I felt pretty good that we had got it pretty much back the spot where Maggie picked it up, and that it's parent's would continue to care for it.
 ^^^ It looked like this ^^^

Yesterday I came back over to check on it.  It had jumped from the tree and was over by the fence, bad spot in my opinion, but I kept Maggie away so it would be safe.   Then last night when I came back over to stay with the dogs (my parents are in California)  I went to check on it.  I couldn't find it at all.  Worried...Yes. 

I searched the area for about 10 minutes and couldn't find it. :(  I figured it was just because it was dark so I headed to bed and would check again in the morning.  This morning came and I went to check.  I couldn't find the baby, but I saw the mother overhead chattering with something on the ground...  So I figure it had to be somewhere...  Then I saw the mother fly to another branch and something flew in swiftly behind her.  To my happiness it was my baby bird.  He had learned to fly in less than 2 days of being on the ground.    My worry was over and Maggie could roam the yard freely again.

Everyone I told this story to thought that it wasn't a big deal that the baby bird almost died because it happens all the time.  I must be weird, because I don't feel the same way.  I'm so glad the bird lived and is up in the air where it should be. 

So if you ever find a baby bird,  go to the link above and it will tell you everything you need to know. :)

Friday, June 10, 2011

A Murder of Crows, Scarecrows, and Fall in General!

Today I needed to run to a craft store to get some paper for a Halloween decoration that I wanted to make.  The paper had to look like old parchment paper.  So, I drove to the new Hobby Lobby in town.  Do you think I was able to get out with only the paper...?  Absolutely not, would be the correct response.  They actually had some fall decor stuff in already... I couldn't resist.  I ended up finding some things that made for a quick and easy centerpiece for Thanksgiving, for that matter all of the fall season.  So, here are my step by step's of both projects.  (The paper craft and the centerpiece)

I do have something to say about Autumn/Fall decor first.  Most of it really looks like.... "Going to grandma's"  Ha ha!  Sorry everyone, but that's really how I feel.  So I was really trying to find things that were not so much that.  I feel that I succeeded today!

First off!

Paper craft!

This is for Halloween, Go figure....  I found the image online. It needed something extra, so I added text.  And here is from there to the finished product...

I love scarecrows! (Perfect for me Right!?)  I printed it off on white to get it the way I wanted it.

 Enlarge this picture and you can see how pixelated it is.  Problem..? Yes!

Solution...
 A Pen!

 Here is it printed on the paper I bought. (Now is when you use the pen to fix the pixelation)  Even with that fixed, I still wanted it to look older.  So, I used this stuff.  (I love it!)

Distress Ink and a tissue.  The ink can be found at any craft store and comes in quite a few colors.  I used Walnut Brown.  

 Then the picture looks like this!  Much older looking!

And for the finished product in a frame...



**********************************
Now onto the centerpiece!

All the pieces were bought at Hobby Lobby.  All were 50% off!  SWEET!

Project includes, 4 wooden Acorns, 1 wooden pine cone, 1 basket, 1 fall garland, and a bag of Autumn toned jewels.

First!
 Roll up the garland into the basket.  (fix the leaves however you want)

Second!
Add the acorns and the pine cone in a decorative way..

Third!
Add the jewels to add some sparkle and also to fill in the spaces.

And.... Your done!

If that wasn't the easiest 2 projects ever!  We can skip July and August right..?  Fall can come right now.  No really, I mean it!
But do you think I could get out of there with just that... Nope! Ha ha!  As I have said before, I really like Crows.  So, in passing through the fall aisles, what do I find.  CROWS!!!  Their are 3 in the set, but they were all priced individually... yeah,  but here they are!

So cute right!?  I loved them. <3

Okay, this is really all I bought, but can you believe I got everything above, minus the frame and Distress Ink,  for only $30!?  I was pretty impressed with myself.


 

2 Years!

Houston and I have been married 2 years as of yesterday.  Here is a brief outline of what we did for it....

First off, it was off to The Cheesecake Factory.  We spent a lot on food, but it was really good.  I swear this is one of the only places that people are more likely to get dessert than not.  Really, how can you leave without some yummy cheesecake..?

Then it was over to "The Sam's" house to watch Game 4 of the NBA Finals.  Go Mavs!




So, I saw this idea on Jana's blog.  Then I saw the movie Tangled.  So to celebrate the event we launched 2 Wishlanterns.  It was slightly more windy than it should have been but they both made into the air safely and we got to watch them clear until they went out.... REALLY far away.

That was pretty much it.  We had fun though.  Now it's on to year 3. ;)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Another Project (slowly) in the Making...

So, everyone has seen those collections of photos that are of random objects that resemble letters.  They are expensive!  Well, I wanted to make one of our last name, and not spend an arm and a leg.  These photos were actually taken last year, but I think it's about time to get them into some sort of attached frame.    I don't have great architectural buildings to take my letters from, so here is my very humble version...

I had to make up the last one. ><  Don't tell. 

Soon these will be put together. For now they will sit safely on my computer. 

Timpanogos Cave

I got a text last night from Erin, wondering if I wanted to go to Timpanogos Cave today.  My back has been hurting for the past few days so I originally wasn't going to go.  But.... I changed my mind.  (Good plan) 

If you have never been there, it's pretty awesome.  The hike is not too hard.  It's all paved and everything, but it becomes a bit steep towards the end. 

Brynn and Erin on the way up!
 
 Erin and I, almost there.  Can you see all those switchbacks behind us!?


 We thought this sign was so funny.  Brynn being a good sport. ;)



Erin said she wanted to get some candid photos.  I tried to, and she made this face!

We waited at the top for a few minutes.  The rangers wanted to wait for some more people to make the group a bit bigger.  Well, the group behind us had like 15 people so... We got our own private tour. ;) *score!*

Our tour guide's name was Logan.  He was a little weirded out by only having 3 people to explain the cave to.  He tried to stick to the script, but we just kept bringing up random stuff. LOL!  Here are the photos from inside!

 All three of us before going in!

  Logan explaining about different cave formations


Stalactites that have been growing for a REALLY long time.  He showed us some small ones that they have been measuring.  They are about the size of a pencil eraser and have been growing for about 80 years!  These are obviously a lot older.
 
 We spent pretty much the whole time talking about the movie The Descent.  Lol!  Brynn looks a little freaked out in this picture. (She really isn't)  I'm just imagining a creature hiding in the dark behind her. 
 
 Erin was apparently paying attention to me taking a photo. LOL!  This was a pretty huge section.  So many things to see.
 
Everything almost looks fake!  There is a lot of water in there right now because of all the run off.  The shiny effect didn't help anything to look anymore real.  The only thing I could think of was the fake rocks at Disneyland on Thunder Mountain Railroad and Indiana Jones.  Disney did an awesome job making them look like the real thing.
Those things have 2 names.  Draperies or "Cave Bacon"  Lol!  I like the first name better.  There were a lot of names that had to do with food in there.  Made us hungry. 
 
 The farther you get in there the more white the formations become, because the water is a lot cleaner once it reaches there. This is the ceiling above us... RIGHT above us. 
 
 This formation is called " The Great Heart of Timpanogos"  There's legend behind it but you will have to go and hear it for yourself sometime. ;)

Saved my favorite photo for last!  The curly formations are called Helictites.  They were my favorite.
(This link is pretty cool to learn about Helictites.  Look for the part about "Timpanogos Cave National Monument") 
 
I do have to say that when we got into the second part of the cave we went through a part that was literally a tunnel.  No room on either side of the walk way.  I got a bit nervous.  I had to just look at the ground until we got the next area.  Then he starts showing all the fault lines that run through the next area.... 
 
Slight claustrophobia+the thought of an earthquake while being in a cave= Michelle in slight panic.   
 
I really didn't freak out for more than that one part.  It's really quite cool and I would go back for sure.  And for all of you who would like to see the trailer for the movie we were talking about... here you go...


Yeah, pretty stupid time to be talking about this movie. :)  
 
No scary people present in Timp Cave.  Definitely Michelle approved. ;)


 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Mango Bread..? Read on....

Houston and I decided to take a stab at Bountiful Basket.  In a nut shell, you pay $15 and you go to a certain location and receive a preselected basket of fruits and vegetables.

In our basket we received A LOT of stuff.  One of those being mango's.  They were rock hard when we first got them, which was a good thing because we had a ton of other things to eat first.  Well, they sat on the counter and I kept wondering what to do with them.  I like mango's but I didn't want to eat all of them at once and in the end, hate them. Ha ha!  Houston and I started talking about ways to use all the things we received.  We were originally talking about banana's and I was saying that we could use any over ripe ones to make banana bread.  Then of course I saw our mango's...  I said,  "I wonder if there is something like.... mango bread!"

I have an app on my phone called Big Oven.  So I typed Mango Bread in the search bar and let it search.  I turned to do something else and Houston started to laugh.  Apparently there is!  So here's the recipe and a photo journey of making it....

Mango Bread
-2 Cups Flour
-2 tsps Baking Soda
-1 tsp Salt
-1 Cup Sugar
-1 tsp Cinnamon
-1/2 Cup Raisins (which are not shown below.  We didn't make it with them)
-3/4 Cup Vegetable oil
-3 Eggs
-2 mangos
-1 tsp Vanilla

Instructions
- Puree mango.  Mix all ingredients well.  Pour into greased pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Let cool for 20 minutes.  (Pureeing the mango was just something I did.  I don't like chunks, but the original recipe didn't specify)

Ingredients mixed!  The mango looks sorta like apple sauce here. (p.s. don't used a whisk, use a spoon)

 Now the pan problem... We don't have a bread pan, so this is what it was made it. :)

Now.... we wait....
 
And wait...



 And wait...


AND....

Done!

 
And may a just say that this thing smelled REALLY good baking... THE WHOLE TIME. ;)

I waited for Houston to get home to try it.  It's pretty dang good!  It's not a really strong mango flavor.  It is pretty much Banana Bread with mango's instead of bananas.   A good way to use fruit that would otherwise have gone bad.  


The final (made for a cook book photo) ;P



Lastly.  I was just being dumb with the waiting photo's.  I hope you don't think I sat in front of my oven for an hour.