They look so happy. :)
Me and my amazing husband.
November 12, 2011
Congratulations to Bruce and Dion!!!!
One of our favorite people got married yesterday to an amazing woman. :) It was a beautiful ceremony on board the Renown, a beautiful antique yacht. We're about to head down to the second day of celebrating with them. :)
They look so happy. :)
Me and my amazing husband.
They look so happy. :)
Me and my amazing husband.
November 09, 2011
Almost up to 300
We've almost hit 300 on my mom's petition. I wanted to share this, this is the disease my mother has had since 1991...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hgyTnmOxSk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hgyTnmOxSk
November 05, 2011
Round ATC's
These aren't done yet, I just finished the backgrounds. Not sure what I want to do with them yet, I thought the rounds shape was fun though.
Letter to Senator Feinstein and back ground on my mother's situation
I wanted to share the letter I sent to Senator Feinstein about my mom’s situation. I’ve gotten a lot of questions as to what happened and this helps explain a bit I hope. It should be noted that since this letter was sent they have first denied my mother’s modification, and then approved it again though it would not lower her payment, all without any new paperwork.
It should also be noted that after a case was being opened by the Senators office, further investigation by them concluded it was a state issue, not federal because HUD never got involved and they had to close the case. Her office did however open a case with the Department of Corporations to investigate the conduct of FMC in this matter.
Since then, Congresswoman Bono's office opened a congressional inquiry, but did not offer any helpful assistance before backing out. FMC denied my mother's trial modification, then back tracked and approved it after they got outside pressure, they did this without ever getting different paperwork. The numbers did not change for my mother's income.
We managed to get a 3 month trial modification, which is required to do any modification, done. FMC charged my mother MORE than her normal mortgage payment by 50 dollars a month for that three month period. FMC pushed this back so that it did not start until the summer when she gets 200 a month instead of the full amount of her disability.
It was not until Kate Berry ran her story that HUD became actively involved. We have been trying to get my mother a HUD approved program modification since March, FMC has had all the paperwork for almost a year.
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I am writing on behalf of my mother, Lesliane Bouchard. My mother’s home loan is through First Mortgage Corporation located at 1131 W. 6th Street Ontario, CA 91762 (Loan # XXXXXXXX). Her home is located in Murrieta, Ca in Riverside County. I believe First mortgage is discriminating against my disabled mother and is now attempting to cover it by rushing through her foreclosure before anyone can do anything to stop it. My mother qualifies for the HUD “making homes affordable program”. FMC’s employee allowed her application to expire all the while assuring my mother there was “plenty of time” and now they refuse to work with us, the error was theirs. I contacted FMC on June 13th via email, I was responded to via phone on June 14th. I was told at that time her foreclosure publication had been pulled. There were additional emails on June 15th which said the same and no contact since. Though they did indicate that they would contact me, they have not. June 23rd a notice of intent to sell at auction was taped to my mother’s door. We had mailed in hard copy a case work release form with this information to your office; I called on Friday and was told that faxing it would expedite it due to the sudden time constraints we are now facing.
My mother is permanently and catastrophically disabled due to a spinal cord injury. She is bedridden 23 ½ hours per day. She cannot even sit up for more than a few minutes at a time. Her motor skills are such that she cannot write you herself. She has Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a severe neurological disease that attacks the entire sympathetic nervous system, with secondary effects from arthritis to migraine headaches. It causes extreme pain, muscles spasms throughout the body, partial to full paralysis, and it is degenerative. While she will live a normal life span, her life consists of lying in bed all day, every day in pain that the top doctors in the field describe as “the most painful, non-life threatening disease,” unable to use her limbs or catch her breath. I lack the words to describe how awful and helpless it is to watch someone you love go through it.
My mother is my hero. She raised my siblings and I alone. She worked long hours while going to college full time. She managed to make time for us even though she was exhausted and the example she set was one all of us strive to emulate. In 1991 someone ran a stop sign and hit my mother, the injuries incurred caused the RSD. She was in school to be an RN at the time and while to begin with the paralysis was in only one arm, she could no longer perform the duties of a nurse and was forced to stop the program. Most people who become severely disabled accept their fate and live on SSI or disability insurance. My mother instead looked to see what she could still do with a broken body and realized she could teach.
She went back to school, first receiving her BA from Chico state and later getting her MFA from San Diego state. She maintained dean’s list grades while taking care of three children and she did it with a disease that doctor’s claim is unbearable to handle. She took a job as a teacher, she taught English and History to 7th and 8th graders at Temecula Middle School up until September of last year. Prior to her accident my mother was a foster parent for many years, she was the foster parent of the year at one point in Sacramento County. She took hard to place children; the children other homes turned away. In addition to raising her own children, she has devoted her life to helping mold and nurture other people’s children. One of the few joys she still has is the continued contact and friendship she maintains with dozens and dozens of her former students
My mother purchased her home in the summer of 2008 with a fixed rate 30 year FHA loan. In September of 2010 she went out on permanent disability, no longer able to work, as her disease progressed to the point it is now. She made her last payment in August 2010 because she knew her doctor was filling out disability paperwork and that she would only work into the first part of September. She knew based on information from the company that provides disability insurance for teachers that disability benefits wouldn’t come immediately. She let First Mortgage Corporation know the situation around that time.
Earlier this year, my mother was made aware of the “Making homes affordable.gov” program through HUD. She was ecstatic at the possibility to stay in her home. Everything else has been taken away from her. Her career as a teacher; although she still has her college degrees, the decade of higher education now seems pointless sacrifice. She lost her health, her financial security, the ability to enjoy life like a normal person. Her home is the only thing she has left. With the help of family she compiled all of the needed documents required to apply for the Making Home Affordable plan. They were received by FMC on March 3rd of this year. The paperwork clearly stated it had to be received before 3/4/11 to be eligible.
The paperwork has been sitting on the account manager’s desk since March 3rd. My mother has called weekly only to be told it will be done “This week.” The paperwork expired after 90 days. My mother has run out of time. Although the account manager repeatedly assured her that there was plenty of time, a default notice has been filed, and foreclosure proceedings begun and “intent to sell at auction” was taped to her door yesterday. My mother’s disability income is not a standard one amount every month. It won’t be until next year. Because of how the teacher’s private disability works, her amount fluctuates some until next year when it becomes a steady monthly amount for the rest of her life. It has something to do with temporary verses permanent disability. Everyone that goes on this disability is considered temporary for the first two years then it shifts over to permanent. I have attached explanations of her income. It requires a bit more effort on the part of the person calculating it than a standard form. However, I fail to see how someone’s entire life is less important than a few minutes extra effort. She will be homeless for no reason other than sheer laziness and ineptitude on the part of one person.
My mother can make the payments if they are adjusted through this program. She qualifies for the program. She did not have an adjustable mortgage, she did not falsify her income, She was honest, followed all the rules and did it right. Unfortunately, she is now disabled and will never be able to work again. Our family is deeply concerned that because of the inaction of one person in that company my mother could realistically lose her home despite it being totally preventable. The only reason it will happen will be the inaction of that employee allowing her paperwork to expire. My mother is unable to talk on the phone for long periods or be on the computer for very long. She hit a communication wall where the company is concerned. I decided to become involved when I found out how ridiculous this situation has become.
I wrote a letter detailing my mother’s situation, the state her house is in and the repairs it would need to qualify for a loan to be re-sold, and I explained the fact that the employee had been sitting on it for months. I did let them know that I was talking to local news and bloggers about my mother’s situation. If she was going to lose her home because someone just didn’t bother to process her paperwork, I planned and still plan to put that into the public eye in any way I can. It is negligence, it is avoidable and it is my mother’s life. I then began trying different combinations for the email address until I was able to get a couple to go through instead of being bounced back as undeliverable. I had planned to have hard copy letters delivered to them if the email hadn’t worked; I cancelled the UPS shipment when I received a voicemail from Joe Sander’s of FMC.
Mr. Sander’s left me a voicemail that was polite, explained that I needed to fax him an authorization from my mother allowing them to talk to me and then he would call me back. I did so. I expected a polite phone call; however he was very abrasive on the phone to begin with. He had an associate sit in on the call, Sherri Mandrell. He switched tone mid way through, but was very vague about several things and ended by saying she no longer qualified for the HUD programs because of a date issue but she qualified for a “standard modification”, which would lower her mortgage by 11 dollars. He said that he would pull the publication on the foreclosure to give us time to work on the standard modification. I thanked him for pulling the foreclosure paperwork, I did not comment on the modification because I needed to look at the paperwork she had.
I was angry at the conversation. I was not being told the total truth but because I didn’t have any of the forms in front of me, I couldn’t comment one way or the other on several issues. I also felt that the approach he took was an attempt to bully me and when that did not have the intended effect he then switched tone and tried to placate me. I drove to Riverside County to review the actual paperwork. At that time I realized it had expired sitting on the employee’s desk. It also did not match what I had been told on the phone. Additionally, the assessor’s office had placed the value of her house at 50K less than what they were claiming. I can provide her original paperwork for the HUD program and the paper from the county assessors if need be. Please let me know.
I wrote a follow up email to Mr. Sander’s in which I expressed that I was angry at the tone of the conversation and that what I had seen in the paperwork did not match what he had told me. I again asked that she be submitted for the HUD programs and not a standard modification. In response I received rude emails from both Mr. Sanders and Ms. Mandrell implying I was lying about what transpired in the phone conversation. A subsequent email from Mr. Sanders inadvertently acknowledged that I had been honest about the phone call. When I brought that to his attention, he did not respond. At no point was it ever acknowledged that the paperwork expired or was left sitting for over 3 months while my mother moved toward foreclosure. There was nothing but flimsy excuses for that with no admission of anything being wrong about how it was handled.
I am now being told that she only qualifies for a standard modification. She spoke to a HUD counselor and an employee of FMC prior to applying; she qualified at the time she applied. She turned in everything within the time frame required and the packet was complete. We have the assessor’s office paperwork showing the actual value of the house as 200K, not 250K. Given the fact her income dropped by 40% and her medical went to over 1000 a month because of needing COBRA, the idea that 11 dollars a month less would make a difference is just silly. They have all of that information; there is no way she could pay that. I don’t know how she would even qualify for it. I believe that the reason they are saying she no longer qualifies is because the employee allowed it to expire. Rather than address that to rectify it, they are trying to sweep it under the rug knowing full well it will cost my mother her home.
June 23rd, a note of intent to sell at auction was taped to my mother’s door. Mr. Sanders and Ms. Mandrell both said on the phone and in email her foreclosure publication had been pulled to allow time to sort this out. They lied. I was told Ms. Mandrell would be following up with me to deal with a modification, this was another lie. The notice was the only other contact FMC has initiated. The paperwork was complete and never reviewed.
I have repeatedly asked that she be submitted to the HUD program and given a chance to keep her home. I am writing in the hopes that your office can offer assistance. My mother is an amazing woman. She has worked hard her entire life and done everything the way she was supposed to. She has helped other people’s children and made a difference in so many lives. For her to be cast aside like nothing because of a paperwork issue is wrong. My mother needs help and she is running out of time. They plan to sell her house on July 18th.
Thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to read this. I appreciate your attention in this matter.
Kristiane Chappell
Again, for anyone that would like it, here is FMC’s contact information.
PDong@firstmortgage.com
RVargas@firstmortgage.com
SLehrer@firstmortgage.com
jsanders@firstmortgage.com
smandrell@firstmortgage.com
It should also be noted that after a case was being opened by the Senators office, further investigation by them concluded it was a state issue, not federal because HUD never got involved and they had to close the case. Her office did however open a case with the Department of Corporations to investigate the conduct of FMC in this matter.
Since then, Congresswoman Bono's office opened a congressional inquiry, but did not offer any helpful assistance before backing out. FMC denied my mother's trial modification, then back tracked and approved it after they got outside pressure, they did this without ever getting different paperwork. The numbers did not change for my mother's income.
We managed to get a 3 month trial modification, which is required to do any modification, done. FMC charged my mother MORE than her normal mortgage payment by 50 dollars a month for that three month period. FMC pushed this back so that it did not start until the summer when she gets 200 a month instead of the full amount of her disability.
It was not until Kate Berry ran her story that HUD became actively involved. We have been trying to get my mother a HUD approved program modification since March, FMC has had all the paperwork for almost a year.
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I am writing on behalf of my mother, Lesliane Bouchard. My mother’s home loan is through First Mortgage Corporation located at 1131 W. 6th Street Ontario, CA 91762 (Loan # XXXXXXXX). Her home is located in Murrieta, Ca in Riverside County. I believe First mortgage is discriminating against my disabled mother and is now attempting to cover it by rushing through her foreclosure before anyone can do anything to stop it. My mother qualifies for the HUD “making homes affordable program”. FMC’s employee allowed her application to expire all the while assuring my mother there was “plenty of time” and now they refuse to work with us, the error was theirs. I contacted FMC on June 13th via email, I was responded to via phone on June 14th. I was told at that time her foreclosure publication had been pulled. There were additional emails on June 15th which said the same and no contact since. Though they did indicate that they would contact me, they have not. June 23rd a notice of intent to sell at auction was taped to my mother’s door. We had mailed in hard copy a case work release form with this information to your office; I called on Friday and was told that faxing it would expedite it due to the sudden time constraints we are now facing.
My mother is permanently and catastrophically disabled due to a spinal cord injury. She is bedridden 23 ½ hours per day. She cannot even sit up for more than a few minutes at a time. Her motor skills are such that she cannot write you herself. She has Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a severe neurological disease that attacks the entire sympathetic nervous system, with secondary effects from arthritis to migraine headaches. It causes extreme pain, muscles spasms throughout the body, partial to full paralysis, and it is degenerative. While she will live a normal life span, her life consists of lying in bed all day, every day in pain that the top doctors in the field describe as “the most painful, non-life threatening disease,” unable to use her limbs or catch her breath. I lack the words to describe how awful and helpless it is to watch someone you love go through it.
My mother is my hero. She raised my siblings and I alone. She worked long hours while going to college full time. She managed to make time for us even though she was exhausted and the example she set was one all of us strive to emulate. In 1991 someone ran a stop sign and hit my mother, the injuries incurred caused the RSD. She was in school to be an RN at the time and while to begin with the paralysis was in only one arm, she could no longer perform the duties of a nurse and was forced to stop the program. Most people who become severely disabled accept their fate and live on SSI or disability insurance. My mother instead looked to see what she could still do with a broken body and realized she could teach.
She went back to school, first receiving her BA from Chico state and later getting her MFA from San Diego state. She maintained dean’s list grades while taking care of three children and she did it with a disease that doctor’s claim is unbearable to handle. She took a job as a teacher, she taught English and History to 7th and 8th graders at Temecula Middle School up until September of last year. Prior to her accident my mother was a foster parent for many years, she was the foster parent of the year at one point in Sacramento County. She took hard to place children; the children other homes turned away. In addition to raising her own children, she has devoted her life to helping mold and nurture other people’s children. One of the few joys she still has is the continued contact and friendship she maintains with dozens and dozens of her former students
My mother purchased her home in the summer of 2008 with a fixed rate 30 year FHA loan. In September of 2010 she went out on permanent disability, no longer able to work, as her disease progressed to the point it is now. She made her last payment in August 2010 because she knew her doctor was filling out disability paperwork and that she would only work into the first part of September. She knew based on information from the company that provides disability insurance for teachers that disability benefits wouldn’t come immediately. She let First Mortgage Corporation know the situation around that time.
Earlier this year, my mother was made aware of the “Making homes affordable.gov” program through HUD. She was ecstatic at the possibility to stay in her home. Everything else has been taken away from her. Her career as a teacher; although she still has her college degrees, the decade of higher education now seems pointless sacrifice. She lost her health, her financial security, the ability to enjoy life like a normal person. Her home is the only thing she has left. With the help of family she compiled all of the needed documents required to apply for the Making Home Affordable plan. They were received by FMC on March 3rd of this year. The paperwork clearly stated it had to be received before 3/4/11 to be eligible.
The paperwork has been sitting on the account manager’s desk since March 3rd. My mother has called weekly only to be told it will be done “This week.” The paperwork expired after 90 days. My mother has run out of time. Although the account manager repeatedly assured her that there was plenty of time, a default notice has been filed, and foreclosure proceedings begun and “intent to sell at auction” was taped to her door yesterday. My mother’s disability income is not a standard one amount every month. It won’t be until next year. Because of how the teacher’s private disability works, her amount fluctuates some until next year when it becomes a steady monthly amount for the rest of her life. It has something to do with temporary verses permanent disability. Everyone that goes on this disability is considered temporary for the first two years then it shifts over to permanent. I have attached explanations of her income. It requires a bit more effort on the part of the person calculating it than a standard form. However, I fail to see how someone’s entire life is less important than a few minutes extra effort. She will be homeless for no reason other than sheer laziness and ineptitude on the part of one person.
My mother can make the payments if they are adjusted through this program. She qualifies for the program. She did not have an adjustable mortgage, she did not falsify her income, She was honest, followed all the rules and did it right. Unfortunately, she is now disabled and will never be able to work again. Our family is deeply concerned that because of the inaction of one person in that company my mother could realistically lose her home despite it being totally preventable. The only reason it will happen will be the inaction of that employee allowing her paperwork to expire. My mother is unable to talk on the phone for long periods or be on the computer for very long. She hit a communication wall where the company is concerned. I decided to become involved when I found out how ridiculous this situation has become.
I wrote a letter detailing my mother’s situation, the state her house is in and the repairs it would need to qualify for a loan to be re-sold, and I explained the fact that the employee had been sitting on it for months. I did let them know that I was talking to local news and bloggers about my mother’s situation. If she was going to lose her home because someone just didn’t bother to process her paperwork, I planned and still plan to put that into the public eye in any way I can. It is negligence, it is avoidable and it is my mother’s life. I then began trying different combinations for the email address until I was able to get a couple to go through instead of being bounced back as undeliverable. I had planned to have hard copy letters delivered to them if the email hadn’t worked; I cancelled the UPS shipment when I received a voicemail from Joe Sander’s of FMC.
Mr. Sander’s left me a voicemail that was polite, explained that I needed to fax him an authorization from my mother allowing them to talk to me and then he would call me back. I did so. I expected a polite phone call; however he was very abrasive on the phone to begin with. He had an associate sit in on the call, Sherri Mandrell. He switched tone mid way through, but was very vague about several things and ended by saying she no longer qualified for the HUD programs because of a date issue but she qualified for a “standard modification”, which would lower her mortgage by 11 dollars. He said that he would pull the publication on the foreclosure to give us time to work on the standard modification. I thanked him for pulling the foreclosure paperwork, I did not comment on the modification because I needed to look at the paperwork she had.
I was angry at the conversation. I was not being told the total truth but because I didn’t have any of the forms in front of me, I couldn’t comment one way or the other on several issues. I also felt that the approach he took was an attempt to bully me and when that did not have the intended effect he then switched tone and tried to placate me. I drove to Riverside County to review the actual paperwork. At that time I realized it had expired sitting on the employee’s desk. It also did not match what I had been told on the phone. Additionally, the assessor’s office had placed the value of her house at 50K less than what they were claiming. I can provide her original paperwork for the HUD program and the paper from the county assessors if need be. Please let me know.
I wrote a follow up email to Mr. Sander’s in which I expressed that I was angry at the tone of the conversation and that what I had seen in the paperwork did not match what he had told me. I again asked that she be submitted for the HUD programs and not a standard modification. In response I received rude emails from both Mr. Sanders and Ms. Mandrell implying I was lying about what transpired in the phone conversation. A subsequent email from Mr. Sanders inadvertently acknowledged that I had been honest about the phone call. When I brought that to his attention, he did not respond. At no point was it ever acknowledged that the paperwork expired or was left sitting for over 3 months while my mother moved toward foreclosure. There was nothing but flimsy excuses for that with no admission of anything being wrong about how it was handled.
I am now being told that she only qualifies for a standard modification. She spoke to a HUD counselor and an employee of FMC prior to applying; she qualified at the time she applied. She turned in everything within the time frame required and the packet was complete. We have the assessor’s office paperwork showing the actual value of the house as 200K, not 250K. Given the fact her income dropped by 40% and her medical went to over 1000 a month because of needing COBRA, the idea that 11 dollars a month less would make a difference is just silly. They have all of that information; there is no way she could pay that. I don’t know how she would even qualify for it. I believe that the reason they are saying she no longer qualifies is because the employee allowed it to expire. Rather than address that to rectify it, they are trying to sweep it under the rug knowing full well it will cost my mother her home.
June 23rd, a note of intent to sell at auction was taped to my mother’s door. Mr. Sanders and Ms. Mandrell both said on the phone and in email her foreclosure publication had been pulled to allow time to sort this out. They lied. I was told Ms. Mandrell would be following up with me to deal with a modification, this was another lie. The notice was the only other contact FMC has initiated. The paperwork was complete and never reviewed.
I have repeatedly asked that she be submitted to the HUD program and given a chance to keep her home. I am writing in the hopes that your office can offer assistance. My mother is an amazing woman. She has worked hard her entire life and done everything the way she was supposed to. She has helped other people’s children and made a difference in so many lives. For her to be cast aside like nothing because of a paperwork issue is wrong. My mother needs help and she is running out of time. They plan to sell her house on July 18th.
Thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to read this. I appreciate your attention in this matter.
Kristiane Chappell
Again, for anyone that would like it, here is FMC’s contact information.
PDong@firstmortgage.com
RVargas@firstmortgage.com
SLehrer@firstmortgage.com
jsanders@firstmortgage.com
smandrell@firstmortgage.com
November 04, 2011
Change.org PLEASE SIGN!!!
http://www.change.org/petitions/hud-fmc-to-participate-in-the-hardest-hit-fund
Please, sign this petition. We are trying to save my moms house. She is bed ridden, she was a school teacher and could not longer teach after a spinal cord injury. Programs exist to save her home, the mortgage company is "choosing' not to participate. First mortgage company will not participate in the hardest hit states fund. This would save my mother's home.
Please, sign this petition. We are trying to save my moms house. She is bed ridden, she was a school teacher and could not longer teach after a spinal cord injury. Programs exist to save her home, the mortgage company is "choosing' not to participate. First mortgage company will not participate in the hardest hit states fund. This would save my mother's home.
November 03, 2011
Update on my mom's house
Newest update
As many know, I have been fighting for months to save my disabled mom from losing her home. This is the newest update, American Banker interviewed she and I.
As many know, I have been fighting for months to save my disabled mom from losing her home. This is the newest update, American Banker interviewed she and I.
November 02, 2011
Dia de los Muertos
Sadly, we couldn't make it to Old Town today. *sniff sniff* but I am working on more sugar skulls. I shall post them when I am done.
October 30, 2011
Halloween (and my sis's b-day)
Happy birthday to my beautiful little sister!!! This is us circa 1994.
On an unrelated note... I was working on Halloween fun... I got these great little bottles on B-Muse.com and was having fun with them. The labels came from various sources. The fillings are all random stuff I had on my workbench.
On an unrelated note... I was working on Halloween fun... I got these great little bottles on B-Muse.com and was having fun with them. The labels came from various sources. The fillings are all random stuff I had on my workbench.
October 29, 2011
Oktoberfest
We went to Oktoberfest... We love Big bear. :)
We stayed in the village this time, normally we stay in a little further south. The cabin was fab. In any case, fun, food and beer were had by all. :)
These kids were adorable!!! They called them the "Polka tots"
I get a flower head band every year. :)
We stayed in the village this time, normally we stay in a little further south. The cabin was fab. In any case, fun, food and beer were had by all. :)
I get a flower head band every year. :)
October 27, 2011
New ATC
:)
I used chalk on the background, along with paper from a chldrens book. I added stamping with alcohol ink, some gel pen accent, and beaded some thin wire, along with a key hole charm. :)
October 24, 2011
My uncle Harry died last night
My great uncle Harry passed away last night after a brief but brutal battle with cancer. He was my grandma's youngest sibling and an amazing guy. I grew up running around his resturant, playing darts in the back, and getting extra whipped cream on my hot cocoa. He always set the juke box in the bar so I wouldn't need to put money in and never complained when I drove everyone nuts with repeated playings of the beach boys and madonna. (To my defense, I was under 10. My music taste is much improved.) In 1990 our house was lost in a flood. We lost everything we owned. My uncle Harry and aunt Janise let us stay with them, even though it had to be a bit much having a houseful of people and made my birthday special. I turned 10 only a few days after this happened and as you can imagine it was not an easy time.
Here is to sneaking up after everyone else is asleep to eat birthday cake and drink big red soda. You will be missed uncle Harry. I love you.
Here is to sneaking up after everyone else is asleep to eat birthday cake and drink big red soda. You will be missed uncle Harry. I love you.
October 23, 2011
Day of the dead
I made a mini shrine for the day of the dead. It isn't finished yet. The 'sugar skulls" were harder than they looked. The whole thing is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches tall. :)
October 18, 2011
Caramels.... our first attempt.
These turned out AMAZING!!! They are of course Toad tested and approved. They kept their shape and didn't get sticky. Perfect flavor. Love love love.
Ingredients
2 cups white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup evaporated milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 cup butter
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1. Grease a 12x15 inch pan.
2. In a medium-size pot, combine sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, whipping cream, and butter. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring. When the thermometer reaches 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) remove the pot from the heat.
3. Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and let the mixture cool completely. When cooled cut the Carmel into small squares and wrap them in wax paper for storage.
October 16, 2011
Baby rattle snake
We found this little guy on the driveway. McHottness was nice enough to move it off the road so it wouldn't get killed. I realize it is a rattlesnake, but it is also a baby and pretty cute for a harbringer of doom. :) I named him Mr. Cuddles.
My husband is such a softie.
October 13, 2011
Curio box project
I started working on this after being inspired by a new art book McHottness bought me on altered dollhouses. I didn't have a doll house but I did have a stash of these little shelves from the dollar store. (I didn't know what I would use them for, but I bought several at the time)
It isn't finished yet, but it is coming along... I made a ton of button clocks too. Not sure if I will use them here or not.
Painting the base
cutting out the backgrounds
adding some other stuff
This fairy was sort of random. I decided to cut out limbs from text. Her dress is silk flower petals. Wings from a butterfly empherma. All in all though, I like her.
Button clocks, I used clock facesand antique buttons.:)
It isn't finished yet, but it is coming along... I made a ton of button clocks too. Not sure if I will use them here or not.
This fairy was sort of random. I decided to cut out limbs from text. Her dress is silk flower petals. Wings from a butterfly empherma. All in all though, I like her.
October 04, 2011
Adventures of Squishy and Ted
Mchottness went backpacking with the great and powerful Eli on the pacifica crest trail (just part, the whole thing takes months) leaving the Toad and I to our own defenses. We decided that a roadtrip to Los Angeles was in order. We spent two days at Universal Studios and managed to squeeze in the Santa Monica Pier Saturday night... Good times. Somewhere along the way we adopted the names Squishy and Ted. The Toad is Squishy.
Santa Monica roller coaster
Simpson ride
I do in fact <3 zombies. I respect anything that can eat your face if you piss it off.
The Toad, in serious Toad mode.
September 24, 2011
Cake ball party
We didn't actually manage to make many cake balls. We did manage to make a huge dent in Puente's booze though. :)
Lasagna (mine) and fried rice (McHottness)
It is hard to take them seriously when Ryan makes that face. :)
Our very druk friends
Honeye's cake balls. She manged to actually get some made. Unlike the rest of us. :)
Lasagna (mine) and fried rice (McHottness)
It is hard to take them seriously when Ryan makes that face. :)
Leo, me and Angelea
September 17, 2011
Old Town and Haunted tour
Ghost Tour
We had a blast... Toad loved the haunted stuff. We want to go back and tour the Whaley house when it is open. Old town is really nice. We hadn't been there before.
We had a blast... Toad loved the haunted stuff. We want to go back and tour the Whaley house when it is open. Old town is really nice. We hadn't been there before.
Cupcakes!!!
We got a new cupcake cookbook.... So obviously we needed to make cupcakes.
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
4.5 oz semi sweet chocolate
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 package fresh raspberries
whipped cream (optional)
Glaze:
14 oz semi sweet chocolate
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp hazelnut liquer (optional)
Melt chocolate, milk and cocoa powder together in a small pan until smotth. Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Sift flour and baking powder together. Flod flour and chocolate mixtures into butter mixture to combine. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 325.
To make glaze:
Melt chocolate, cream and liqueur together, stir until chocolate has melted. Top cupcakes and decorate with raspberries.
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
4.5 oz semi sweet chocolate
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 package fresh raspberries
whipped cream (optional)
Glaze:
14 oz semi sweet chocolate
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp hazelnut liquer (optional)
Melt chocolate, milk and cocoa powder together in a small pan until smotth. Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Sift flour and baking powder together. Flod flour and chocolate mixtures into butter mixture to combine. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 325.
To make glaze:
Melt chocolate, cream and liqueur together, stir until chocolate has melted. Top cupcakes and decorate with raspberries.
September 11, 2011
Muffins!
The Toad and I made our first batch of muffins from scratch.
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. blueberries
2/3 c. milk
1 stick butter
1 egg lightly beaten
We substituted 1 c. of flour for almond meal for a richer flavor. Sift dry ingredients together first, add liquid, fold in berries. Barely mix the ingredients, and pour into pan. Makes 1 dozen muffins. 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Batter will be lumpy.
August 28, 2011
Sea life aqarium time
Toad and friend.... fish... you get the idea. Legoland in Carlsad opened a new aqarium, the Toad loves animals, so we went. I will say it was a great set up though more geared for younger kids. He didn't let that detract him from having fun, but it definitely was younger kid friendly as well.
August 23, 2011
Artist trading cards.
I've been getting into some new mediums lately... these are fun.
Basic paper, chalk, ink and embellishment.
August 16, 2011
The Devils slide
Devils slide
We hiked/backpacked the devils slide. It was awesome but my legs hurt for like 3 days. I need to get new hiking boots.
We hiked/backpacked the devils slide. It was awesome but my legs hurt for like 3 days. I need to get new hiking boots.
August 07, 2011
Rim of the world
More hiking... I'm hoping the winter is mild so we can get more hiking and kayaking in.... We stayed at the cutest cabin in Big Bear.
The view is great from the rim.
August 05, 2011
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