Bits and Pieces

      The last week or so doing things seems to take maximum effort. I also seem to be moving in super slow motion. It's an odd physical feeling as well as a lack of want-to. While I am sitting here typing this I am wishing I was laying in bed, watching YouTube videos. I don't know if the videos are that engaging or if I just don't feel like doing things. I would really love for this to pass. 

       I am definitely getting bits and pieces of things done, even though nothing is getting finished. The other day I started on a rainbow of cross country vests. I posted this photo on Instagram and Facebook. I do love how the color wheel of vests looks. I have gotten a bit further on these, most of the padding is in, but I forgot to take any photos. 

       I mentioned some of my first world problems the other day. I did finally go out and do some makeup shopping. I went to MAC and I got a gorgeous color shift purple/green liquid eyeshadow. I also decided I would try the MAC liquid liner. I have tried a lot of liquid liners, and I don't love all of them. Actually, I don't even like most of them. I am a big fan of Urban Decay's perversion liner. But I decided to give MAC a try, it was the same price at the UD so why not? 

       I also went to Ulta and picked up a set of Jeffree Star eye brushes. And it was a good mail day and my Jeffree Star unicorn blood (that is the color) liquid lipstick came in the mail. This is the full extent of my Jeffree Star cosmetics collection at the moment. I have my eye on other things. I really only took this photo because I was texting back and forth with my niece about makeup, while I was cleaning out my makeup box. She said she just can't afford his stuff. I said I am 40, got through my super struggle years, have two jobs and basically all I do is pay bills and save money. That is how I could splurge on something like this. And at the time of this photo I had owed this handful of items from Jeffree Star cosmetics for less than 24 hours. 

      While a lot of things have been a struggle, especially dolls, I have been back into purge mode. I realized I had Mary Kay products in my makeup case from when I was a consultant. That was 10 years ago! It is a really bad idea to use previously used products that are that old. Especially anything liquid (face primer, concealer, foundation, etc). So I was severe and I threw out all of the old stuff. But I realized I also had a good amount of stuff that is very recent and new or nearly new. I did the makeup subscription bags from Sephora and Ipsy for a bit and I ended up with a variety of makeup and skincare items. But I am not really using it. Which was part of the reason I stopped getting the subscription bags. The makeup texting started when I asked my niece if she liked Rimmel. I literally bought that palette about a week ago and used a few colors once. I know how to disinfect a palette so I asked her if she wanted that. She was very excited for it as she loves makeup and recently lost most of her makeup collection. So I dug deep. I asked how she felt about used stuff I can't disinfect (mascara and lipgloss) and she said because it's me, she's fine with it. So I was very critical and pulled out anything I don't use, barely use or only use because I feel guilty for not using it. I still have stuff. I did discover that after my super purge I am actually in need of a few things. 

      Why does anyone care about my makeup? Maybe they don't. But makeup is art, just like so many of the things we do. Makeup can be a mask, that literally can help us get into a character. Makeup can be confidence. If we like how we look, we feel good, and we are possibly more confident. Makeup can also be self-care, which a lot of us are bad at. I decided I wanted some colors I didn't own. Along with that I realized I have been neglecting my skin. Putting on makeup reminds me I need to take care of my skin. I am not usually a foundation kind of girl (I used to be) so I figured maybe I would start with a tinted moisturizer and build up from there when I am comfortable with that. And I will take care of my skin. Because I have been a super slacker. I am not feeling totally motivated to do things yet, but I am getting some random things taken care of and starting to make more of an effort with some things. 

      To a lot of people, Christmas is over for the year. Not for me. While we don't really celebrate Christmas, my family does. And Crystal and I always exchange gifts. After the makeup purge I decided it was time to wrap gifts. Though I use that term very loosely. Mostly things got put into gift bags. I did wrap a couple of things, but gift bags were better for most of the gifts. How else do you add chocolate? I made gifts pretty and ready for giving, but that took awhile. But now it is mostly done. I need some more wrapping paper to wrap some New Year's gifts (our family here does gifts for New Years and we celebrate New Years day). I imagine I will have a chance to do that before NYE. I better hurry though.

      I did get some doll work worked on. Nothing got done, nothing has really gotten done in a bit. This jockey may be my mental block. Jockeys are a bit tricky to make but this guy has been in my book since sometime in the beginning or middle of November. Which is eons for me. First I was not making him because I was super prepping for my Black Friday sale. Then I was sort of taking a short break from dolls because I super needed it. Then I was (and am) struggling with the blahs. I have literally been working on this doll for weeks. A little bit at a time. He is getting closer, but he still needs a lot more work. I am hoping if I push through and finish him, I might feel more accomplished and then in turn might be more productive. Sometimes that happens. Wish me luck. 

      The other night I was laying on my bed watching YouTube videos and texting people, when Travis decided he needed to come hang out. And be silly. He was giggling and laying on my shoulder. He even told me he was being (or felt) silly. I said "what are you doing?" and he said "silly". So here is my silly selfie with my super silly Travis. Too bad this happened so late in the day. Travis's silly and super positive energy might have motivated me to do things if I had more time. It sure made me feel happy. 

     Anyway, I have not been super productive with any one thing lately, but I have gotten bits and pieces of several things worked on. I am close to finished with several pairs of leather chaps and chinks. I fixed a pair of chaps I ripped the front strap out of during a photo shoot (OK, so I DID finish something). I have made progress on a whole bunch of cross country vests and I am slowly making progress on the jockey. Things ARE happening. Just slowly. And I am enjoying my TV and video time. I need to remember, it is getting dark a couple of minutes later every day. We are one day closer to Spring. It won't be cold forever, even though it seems like it at the moment. And even though I am having some struggles at the moment, it really isn't that bad and I really am very blessed. 

Low Carb Chicken and Noodles

     Chicken and noodles is a comfort food. Which should just be another way of saying full of carbs and I can't eat it. The other day though I heard beef and noodles (related) and I thought, that sounds SO good, I want to make it. So I started searching the Internet to see if anyone had a crock pot recipe for chicken and noodles done with palm noodles. When that didn't work I switched to seeing if there were any recipes using palm noodles in the crock pot. One. I can find a fully realized recipe for lasagna in the crockpot done with palm noodles. But that is not helpful to me. That is not chicken and noodles and not even really related. Plus I already know how to make lasagna with palm noodles and the crockpot method does not seem any faster or easier. So I decided at that point my options were to give up or take a real chicken and noodles recipe and adapt it to be low carb. And to think all the good thoughts about it turning out well. I don't know if the carb filled kind is good, but I linked the recipe I used. 

    So the first step was to put boneless, skinless chicken breast in the crockpot with chicken broth and seasonings. I had regular chicken thighs and beef broth so that is what I used. (I will put  my recipe with the adaptations below.)

      After that the instructions were basically to let the chicken cook on low for 3.5-4 hours. OK. So I did that. I set it for 4 hours on low and I went and did some other things for awhile. About 3 hours in I remembered that a lot of the recipes I had looked at (that called for cream of chicken soup, which I didn't have and potentially can't eat) said that you can mix in veggies. It seemed like a nice idea so I took out a bag of cauliflower and broccoli so it could at least partially thaw. I meant it to be out longer but forgot. 
      Here is sort of where I veered off from the original recipe. Well, my recipe was already doing it's own thing, but I had to change up the instructions some. At the 4 hour mark I took out the chicken, deboned and shredded it and put it back in the crock pot. Then I added 4 cans of rinsed and drained palmini noodles and the bag of broccoli and cauliflower. I had no idea if this was even going to work, but I kept going. I turned the crockpot up to high and set it for an hour. 

     40 minutes in to the hour I made the weird thickening slurry. I can't use cornstarch so I mixed xanthan gum with heavy whipping cream. It looked kind of disgusting. But I figured it would likely work. Actually I was not totally sure if it would work so I was back to thinking really positive thoughts and just hoping. 

       After the last hour was finished I opened the crockpot and stirred everything together. There were some spots at the very bottom where it looked like there was still thinner broth. But with real chicken and noodles the noodles would have soaked that up when they cooked. That is not a thing with palm noodles. 

     In the end we had a reasonable, fairly tasty meal. As is our way, Ethan and I talked about ways we could improve it. The first thing I said was that it needed more seasoning. I think when most people write recipes they are a bit afraid to add too much. We like a lot of seasoning and flavors. So now I know to add more. Ethan also topped his with parmesan cheese. Which was an excellent idea. And we both thought that the noodles were a bit less firm than when I put them in spaghetti and maybe even longer in the crockpot might do good things for them. Who knows. But my overall impressions were that this was a fairly easy meal to create. It makes a good amount of food. I didn't do the math, but it is low carb and should be fairly low in calories for a comfort food. I will definitely be trying this again. I will type up the recipe below. The way I made it. 

Low carb chicken and noodles in the crockpot

4 chicken thighs
2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more) black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (or more) garlic powder
4 cans palmini spaghetti
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
bag of frozen veggies of your choice (optional) thawed

Instructions:

1. Add chicken, broth, parsley, salt pepper and garlic powder to crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. 
2. Remove the chicken and shred it. Turn crockpot to high, return the chicken and add rinsed palm noodles and veggies. Cook for 40 minutes
3. While the noodles and veggies are in, whisk together the heavy whipping cream and xanthan gum. At the 40 minute mark add in the cream and mix well. Continue to cook for 20 minutes. Serve with parmesan cheese (optional)

Doll Work!

       I finally managed to do some doll work! It has been a struggle and I really have not felt like doing it for a bit. But I am slowly picking away at things. I finally got the body rebuild done on the doll body for the jockey. I finally got the clothes cut out to make the silks for the jockey and for a western pleasure doll I need to make. I have made some doll work progress! And it has been rough. I really don't feel like working. I want to just not. But I can't just stop forever, so I push forward. Baby steps. 

      Recently I got some super amazing brown leather from a seller on ebay. A lot of times when they say the skins are thin and supple, it's not particularly true in doll scale. This leather is actually amazing! So I started on a batch of chaps/chinks that will eventually be for my live sale at the end of March. So far I have a pair of ladies cutting chaps, mens cutting chaps and a pair of chinks in the works. They all still need buckles and Velcro, but I did make fairly good progress on them. I was proud of myself. 

       Part of my push to try to keep working, at least sometimes, is wanting to fight the seasonal blahs. It would be all too easy to just not do anything. Other than maybe watch TV, that seems to be what I want to do these days. Once in awhile a day of binge watching shows that isn't productive in any way is OK. I definitely don't want to make a habit of it. It's a slippery slope.
      I will keep on picking away at the doll work. I have a few ordered dolls that I need to finish up and then I can start thinking about what to make for my live sale. I am sort of into making the smaller items at the moment. I think I might get into some cross country kits next. Or saddle bags maybe. Or both! But baby steps. I just need to keep going. 

Tiny Horses and First World Problems

      I really get a kick out of the new Breyer shrinky micros. There are horses I might actually keep just because they are tiny. I don't necessarily like them full sized, but tiny makes them better. It makes a lot of things better. I also super love really detailed miniatures. I went out to Westfield Walmart again the other day, specifically because they have these. I grabbed a whole bunch, didn't feel any of them up, and ended up with (I think) a full set, other than the chase piece. I have a couple of the others already. I also have a bunch of extras that can be prizes during my next live sale. Because prizes are fun! And micros are fun! And micros as prizes should be extra fun!

      As a lot of people know, Joan Yount is a really good friend of mine. We email each other every day and we chat about whatever is going on. This week we had a theme of our first world problems. One of my FWPs was I broke a shelf support in my freezer. Because I had way too much meat in it and I forced a frozen piece of meat out of the way, pushed the shelf too far, and snapped the support. So... I had to buy a new freezer shelf support because I had too much food. That is definitely a first world problem. My parts came in, the fix took about 20 seconds and I have spares in case I do it again. 

      I got to go and see Tracy the other day and get my hair cut and bleached so I could make it unicorn colored again. I was complaining to Joan about how long it takes to do all the foils and the mess I make. But seriously, while I am very far from rich, I have the money to buy the colored conditioner and the time to put in the color. And Tracy would have done it for me if I had brought the conditioner to her house. I do really love how my hair came out. Even though this was after a second session with foil and colors. I had spots after the first round that did not take well. This look was Tracy approved!

      Recently I have been watching RuPaul's Drag Race and Jeffree Star videos on Youtube. There is a lot of makeup involved in both. I wear makeup often. Not every single day, sometimes if I am not going out at all I won't bother, but even though I am on vacation I have wanted to wear makeup. And I have wanted to shop for makeup. Continuing the theme of first world problems is I can't choose what to get. I noticed that my eyeshadow collection is mostly earth tones and smokey colors. Apparently my makeup is firmly stuck in the 90's, with a 2010's twist. When I was out the other day I picked up a Rimmel eyeshadow palette. It had several shades of purple and a teal and some other fun colors. All of a sudden I am inspired to try more colors! Here is me channeling Miss Piggy. I think she wore it better. 

      Rimmel is not a bad brand at all but the eyeshadow I got is not very pigmented. I am wearing several layers of several purples in the above photo, and it doesn't show all that much (and I did use primer and a very light color of Urban Decay as a base). So I am back to the search. And my first world problems. Even though it is not Thanksgiving I have been really grateful for a lot of things lately. I have fantastic people in my life, a house to live in (with apparently too much food), heat, etc. I have a job with excellent coworkers, a hobby business with really excellent and supportive customers. If my biggest struggle in life is figuring out which brand of purple eyeshadow I want to spend my money on I am doing really well. Or maybe I just want to look at all the positives. It seems when I focus on the good instead of dwelling on the bad, everything seems better and easier. And I am OK with that. 

Gifts for Hellen

     For the last several years I have participated in a model horse hobby gift exchange. I love doing these. It's not every day I can get hobby related gifts for someone after all. My favorite part of the gift exchange is figuring out just what I should get for my person. If they are a performance person, it's easy, I can just make them a doll. If they are not I have to work harder at the gifts and I can't give as much. Some people have really great reactions to their gifts, and it makes me really happy to have them so well received. I have also had someone barely acknowledge the gifts and that is a lot harder and can take all the fun out of the exchange for me.  
     This year my giftee was Hellen Ferguson. I was a little nervous because Hellen is a newish Facebook friend, I don't have a lot of time to spend on Facebook, and I didn't know a lot about her. I asked if she was a performance person and Christine told me she was not a current performance shower, but was interesting in trying. Well then, let me see what I can do to  enable  facilitate that. 
       I think that Hellen's enthusiasm and super positive attitude would have made even a quick photo and a thank you special and would have made my day. But that is not what happened. It all started with this post. 

      I was happy that the box had arrived and told Hellen she was welcome to wait or open the things right away if she chose. I said they were all numbered, which of course she discovered as soon as she opened the box. 

     Gift #1 was easy. I managed to find out at the perfect time that Hellen LOVES candy corn! So I went to the store and snagged several bags as they were trying to clear them out (I told you, easy).

      Hellen said that she has gluten issues. A lot of my other friends do as well. I am also really sensitive to dietary restrictions and food allergies. So I researched chocolates to see what was OK. I knew already that Lindt truffles were out. My research showed that Dove chocolates were safe as long as it was not the oreo cookie flavor. Which I have never even seen. 

     Did I mention that this series of photos happened over several days? Hellen opened one gift a day and posted (usually several) photos. It was fantastic! Day 3 was the sparkly black saddle pad. Hellen commented that now she needed a western saddle. And I giggled. Kind of a lot.

       Day 4 was a Rio Rondo saddle kit. I actually almost ordered a western saddle for Hellen but I reminded myself that even though I made the doll and the saddle pad, it was already a pricey gift and I should reel it in a bit. I didn't spend a thing on the saddle kit since I happened to have 2 here already that I hadn't gotten around to making. It seemed like fate that I got Hellen as my giftee!

      The saddle kit was very well received, just as everything else had been. But I of course knew what was coming for day 5. During my live sale Hellen got some green splint boots and I thought that I would make a green doll and a green saddle pad. But then I got to thinking that maybe that wouldn't work. Maybe green wouldn't necessarily match the horse Hellen wanted to show. Maybe I should find out her favorite color. Maybe I should stop second guessing everything and stressing and just make a sort of basic western pleasure doll in black. That way she will go with everything. Every horse, all the accessories, everything. It seemed like the best idea. I of course added swarovski crystals, it is me after all, and after stressing and slacking I was ready to wrap and ship. And wait. 

      Yesterday was Hellen's birthday. This was also doll day. Perfect. This makes me so happy!

       Getting Hellen as my gift exchange person has been a gift in itself. She is an incredibly wonderful, extremely positive person. Every time I see her name on a comment on a Facebook post I smile. It was awesome putting together her gift package and amazing to watch the slow reveal over several days. Technically Hellen could now turn around and sell everything I gave her (though selling candy corn and chocolate might be weird) and I would be OK with that. But I have a feeling Hellen is going to be building a western saddle this winter and playing with western performance set-ups. Then hopefully next show season we will see her in the performance rings where I am sure her positive energy and enthusiasm will brighten everyone's day. I hope someday I can meet you Hellen, I need a big hug from my new and truly wonderful friend!

Hair and Prizes

      One of my favorite things is getting my hair done. Or really, even just having my hair brushed or played with. I don't get my hair done all that often. I think the last time was February. I used to be really good about keeping up with my hair, and then I just started to slack. Which is sad, since my hairdresser, Tracy, is a good friend of mine. I met her in a salon, we became friends and I followed her to other salons. Now I just go to her house to get my hair done. Travis also loves her. And Tracy has always been so good with Travis. It was funny to see his completely ignoring the new grand daughter though. Travis has pretty much no interest in babies. 

     Tracy has magical powers and is the only person that is allowed to cut Travis's hair. He would rather it never get cut. Ever. But a trim, at least once in awhile, makes it more healthy and less prone to tangling. 

     I had Tracy bleach my hair again and bring up the level. Now I have a lot of real estate for fun colors. But at the same time, I had a lot of really, really odd colors before I added the fun colors. Tracy was horrified when I said I was going to do the colors myself. She didn't want me to go out in the world looking like a hot mess. And I did. I am not going to share how my hair looked, there is no photo evidence of the full head, but this was how my ends looks. Actually, kind of a cute color. 

       I didn't keep my crazy, super-bleached look long. I got out my tools and fixed the mess. It took a surprisingly long time to get all of the colors in my hair. 

     But the results were pretty good. I started with teal on top, then went to blue, purple, magenta and then pink. The back needs some touch-ups, but I do like how the colors blend into each other. And I have SO much space for fun colors now!

     In other news, I got a package from Enterprise Props. Some of the things are for me, but I added a bunch of things for prizes for my next live sale. I do love prizes. The sale in March is going to be full priced, not discounted, but I will still have games with prizes and I will likely offer some discounts as prizes as well. I just love prizes! I also will most likely have some items at a discount, but I am going to keep what they are as a surprise. 

      It's still early in my vacation, but I am already having a lot of fun. I have a great time hanging out with work friends on Friday, I got to see Tracy and I don't have to get up at 5:00, which is the best! I was introduced to Jeffree Star YouTube videos, and I have been enjoying them. His makeup looks are too much for me, mostly because I only do eyes, and not full face, but I am looking forward to more makeup reviews. Maybe I will find some other good brands to try. I am a big fan of Urban Decay, but there are tons of brands out there. Soon though, I really need to get back to doll work. 

More Pigs and Good Coffee

      The other day we went out to more antique stores and indoor flea markets. This, surprisingly, was the only Breyer I saw in two different stores. I didn't pick it up, but from this one side it looked to be in at least fairly good condition. Was it worth $35? I have no idea. Maybe to someone. 

I also saw a ton of pigs. Again. 

     I'm starting to think that pigs are the new cows. Cows used to be the thing to add to country decor (I think.)

Some of the pigs clearly had no purpose other than decorative. 

     This pig was cute, and may have been a bank. Or it may have been solid, I didn't check. It would go with pretty much any color scheme though. 

     The little flying pig may have been my favorite

     It was a very lazy, tired sort of day for me. I was unmotivated and would have gladly just stayed at home doing nothing if Ethan had not suggested going out to the stores. When we got back I made some of the new Tiny Footprint coffee I was gifted. The beans are so shiny!

     I don't drink a lot of hot coffee these days, but cold brew takes at least 8 hours so I decided to have some hot coffee and put the new micros on the shelf. It was a nice, mostly lazy day. Full of pigs of every shape and size and some really excellent coffee. 

     I did manage to finally find enough doll work motivation to get the jockey doll rebuild done. So I have passed one really big hurdle! Now I need to cut out and sew the clothes and do all the rest of the things. Sooooon.