Turkey hair clips

I made these for a couple coworkers and a couple kids at work last night, the youngest recipient called him "Tango Turkey Bubbles"... I'm not sure why but it totally made my day!!

What you need:

Fall colored silk flowers (I used 2 and got 4 turkeys out of it)
brown felt
orange felt
eye balls (I like these tiny black eyes better than the googly eyes)
hair combs (my local craft store sells them for a quarter a piece, but if you have old ones you can recycle)
hot glue gun


The how-to:

Remove the stem from the flowers, then the plastic "caps" found at the base that helps hold it together.

Remove each layer of petal and sort by size/color

Cut the layers in half

Start layering petals together to make your feathered tail, attaching each layer with hot glue

Free hand a turkey body out of the felt and attach him to the petals at both the bum and the head, otherwise the "heavy" eyes make him droopy.

Attach eyes and a nose

Glue turkey onto comb with curved side up--that way he faces out when you wear him in your FABULOUS hair!

If you don't want to wear a turkey on your head, you can glue them to napkin rings, place cards, or whatever. They're very simple!!

I found the link from where I got the idea, so click here if you need step by step pictures!

Friends!!

Sorry, I've been sick and busy and running around like a chicken with my head cut off!! I made the banana cake again which was delicious again :) And Cherie is here!!

We did pumpkins, did henna art, went out to eat (too much haha) and took pictures together! We've just had a really good, relaxing time.

BBQ Pork Chinese style (Char Siu)

Hello my lovelies! Come over to my other blog and check out BBQ pork Chinese style. Last weekend we went for pulled pork, this weekend is all about the chinese food! Mmm, I've made the sauce and it smells delicious. I can't wait to cook it tomorrow afternoon!! I might not even invite others so I can have it all myself!!

Spicy Chicken with Peanut Sauce

So I just posted this on the other blog I was talking about last week. I am so excited to eat it!

http://somanyspices.blogspot.com/2011/09/spicy-chicken-in-peanut-sauce.html

Get over there and read all the delicious recipes, and cook them! I hope you enjoy them all!

"Back to school...

back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool..." Between Adam Sandler's song and the Staples commercial, back to school time is a wonderful time of the year. Even if I'm not actually going back to school, I still enjoy it!



We have made so many great things for our classroom (with so much being purchased at back to school bargain prices!) and it's only been a week!

Here is our awesome class tree. We had a paper one that a certain student loved to rip off the wall daily so we messed him up and painted it. He ran over the day it was painted and said "Oh! No rip!" (he's almost 4, but has the verbal skills of a younger child.) Now he sits at the bottom and looks at the acorns we have decorated our tree...almost like he's plotting how to get them down.

We've not got an owl I drew sitting on the branch. He was in the knot on the tree, but that was too low. Now he's watching class from the tree. And we move him around so the kids come in from school and have to go find the owl. It's adorable.

We are doing a lot of coloring activities now too so tonight while I waited for the laundry to finish I sat here and sharpened every colored pencil. Thank heavens for electric sharpeners! Now the kids can actually use the pencils. Novel idea, I know :)

Ian's started school today too. He really liked it which is awesome. I got him a desk this semester too so he's even more excited about that! Sad but true haha. He loves having a place he can put his computer and printer and papers that doesn't have to get cleaned up when company comes or when we want to have dinner at the table! I love it too. Between the desk, the gazelle, and the tv set up for a wii back in the second bedroom, it's a good thing we don't have a kid yet! I'm not sure where one would go! (Obviously we'd rearrange/get rid of stuff but it's funny to think of just putting a bassinet on top of the desk haha)

I hope you are all enjoying back to school time! Good luck to you!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Last night I decided it was time for a party up in here. So I got myself a pork shoulder and a bottle of coca-cola, and some rolls.

I called all my friends because it was short notice and put it up on facebook.

This morning at 5 am I placed an onion I had chopped the night before, a pork shoulder roast (fat side up) that I had liberally salted and peppered, and a cup of soda in the crock pot and put it on high.

Around nine I added another 1/2 cup or so of soda. At about 12:30 (after church and inviting some more friends!) I pulled the biggest fat chunks off and started shredding the meat. It came apart with tongs and I left the bone in. I hear it has more flavor that way.

At 4 I pulled the bone out and added a bottle of honey bbq sauce. I've kept it on high this whole time, but turned it down to low when I added the sauce. It was amazing tasting before the sauce, but I love sloppy pulled pork.

I had another bottle of sauce for when it was served which was nice because it gave everyone the opportunity to make it even messier!! Ian had brought home some macaroni salad and potato salad, so it was a full meal! I also made my chewy lemon cookies again. I figured it was a nice flavor balance with that!

Recipe


1 pork shoulder roast
1-2 cups of coca-cola (any soda will work, it just has to be regular, no diet)
1 yellow onion, diced
salt and pepper
1 bottle of favorite bbq sauce


Lay the onions on the bottom of the crock pot and then put in the meat fat side up. Pour one cup of soda over the meat and put the crock pot on high. Let cook 4 hours and add more soda. Cook another 3 hours and shred meat. 4 hours later add the bbq sauce and put on low or warm until you are ready to serve.

Total 11+ hours



It was so much fun having people over today. And now that I'm going to start posting to this blog (go check it out!!) I'm going to be having even more recipes. A friend started it and it's going to be awesome! I can't wait to get cooking, though most of mine will probably be on the weekends, that's the easiest for me to have time to try new things!

End of Time

How wonderful does this video make you feel?!

It's only September but I'm planning for November...

I'm cast iron pan shopping today. They're some trouble, but I do love them. Macy's is having a Labor Day sale and it's only $25! Regular $55! I like that a lot. So now I have to decide if I'm healthy enough to go down there/convince Ian of the importance of the pan so he'll go get it. I want to go down on Monday for the museum or the state fair (also if I'm healthy enough) but they'll only hold it until tomorrow night. Unless I call tomorrow and have them hold it. I don't know what to do!

I am so ready to cook up soups and stews and roasts. I am already thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. I want to have Thanksgiving here in my apartment and invite people over that can't go home. But I want to cook the turkey and make the fixings. It'll be our first thanksgiving on our own. I am SO excited.

The only thanksgiving dinner I have ever made by myself was a stuffed salmon fillet with linguine and a bottle of sparkling cider.  It was delighful but lonely.

Anyone have a good Thanksgiving cooking fail story? :)

Google Scribe...best friend...what? They're the same!

I was thinking today about how I loved T9 on my old phone because I could start writing a word and it would finish it for me.

Then today while trying to fix my other post I read about google scribe. It is a text prediction "app" for lack of a better word.  I will type out a word or two and it will start adding the (but giving me the chance to reject) other words following. Okay, let me give you an example. I'll start writing a sentence with "Today" and we'll see where it takes me...

Today I am going to... That's what it started. Like when you search in google for something and then it pops up suggestions. The tricky part is to accept a suggestion you hit space. But sometimes I just want a space, and not the word. But it's new, there will be kinks. And that is why proofreading is KEY! (Don't hassle me if I have something wrong haha)

I see this being my new favorite writing prompt. Kinda like this site... http://www.webook.com/911writersblock

Totally go there and try it out. I think between the two of these I might get back into writing. Remember back when I wanted nothing more than to be a writer? Yeah. I wonder why that never happened. I have written a lot, and people say it's good, it just doesn't seem good enough to me I guess. I submitted a poem to a publisher once. I'm pretty sure I still have my rejection slip.  But it was hand signed :)

When I was living in Iowa I listened to a radio show every Sunday night. The host described it as "a radio drama show with radio actors, sound effects, and music and and everything?" It was incredible. To have your story on the show you had to submit the script AND your rejection slip. The more slips the better. It was awesome. I swear, publishers don't know what's good! I still remember the stories. I'm sure my parents thought it was weird that I would slip off to bed at 8:45 pm to make sure I got everything done and ready by 9 and got my radio set, because seriously, it was non-stop awesome for the next hour.

See, I told you this writing prompt stuff made you write more. I haven't thought of this show for years. Many, many I have got to find it somewhere. I-tunes saved the day! 27 episodes. Thank heavens this medicine has wired me. I am going to go listen. EEK! Ah, even the intro music is making me giddy. Please, go listen to one. Maybe even Artie Azzetti one. He is this precocious child who gets into trouble. Kinda the Dennis the Menace of radio? Love it. Toodles folks! It's time to listen to magic.

It's feeling a lot like fall because...

1) I wore a sweater to work yesterday! It's green with a pink drangonfly on it. I love it!!


2) I've got my first bout of strep of the season. You could set a clock to my strep cycle...if you wanted a really slow, every 3-4 month clock. I woke up today and it was 46 degrees out, which felt nice for my fever when I went to the doctor. I told the nurse I had strep and she said, "Uh huh, you have a sore throat..." and then asked me all the other questions nurses ask. The doctor came in and in less than 30 seconds of examining me he said, "Wow, the nurse should have been able to tell this was strep, not just a sore throat!" He was amazed I could still sound normal while talking and that I hadn't come in earlier. It didn't feel like strep until this morning, but he said it must have been like this a few days (explaining the fever and other symptoms) for it to look how it did. And the last few days I've just kinda felt icky and haven't eaten much of anything that would have irritated my throat so I guess that didn't trigger anything either.


I looked for a picture online because I wanted to show you how yucky my throat was, but didn't want to take a picture of my own throat, but the ones online are WAY funky! Mine is gross, but not like those ones. It just looks/feels like someone took a knife and chopped little cuts at my ginormous tonsils. You're welcome for the mental image.


So I don't leave you on a gross note, now that it's feeling like fall, I am busting out my fall tunes.


3) This (and most of Ingrid Michaelson's songs) has been stuck in my head. Fall just reminds me of falling in love. I'm not sure why, since most of my relationships have been in the spring and summer, but I love the way this song makes me feel. You should also definitely check out "Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg and "Love You in the Fall" by Paul Westerberg (not a real video, but just listen in the background haha).

Enjoy the end of summer folks, fall is coming and I am SO excited!

Banana Cake

So good!! Dang, I am delighted. I scarfed two pieces before work. 


The directions say to put it in a freezer after you bake it but I didn't have room in my freezer or time to do it. But all the reviews say that it is a great idea. Ok, all the reviews I read...okay, the two I read hahaha. Anyway, if you make this, try the freezer step and let me know how it goes!


I've copied this from the website Allrecipes, but I'll paste it here with the things I did differently.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 1/8 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (buttermilk substitute)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• 
  
• Glaze: (A recipe for pound cake glaze I found)
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 3 tbsp. Milk
• 3 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Mine took about an extra 20 minutes but I hate my oven!
4. For the glaze: melt butter, add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together and whisk until smooth. Pour over HOT cake. 

And I didn't do the dries with the dry ingredients and then alternately add them with the buttermilk. I didn't mash the bananas either, I like them a little chunkier so I just broke them up. I used 3 large bananas. I have no idea how much that works out to. 

It is so divine. Enjoy!!!

Anniversary and Willy Wonka

So hello there friends :)

I went back to work on Monday and holy busy!! I am going to enjoy my weekends (which I have so far) because work is KILLA! But I'm so lucky to have a job and especially to be given a job back after I walked away. I discussed what I was having a hard time with and things have been or will be fixed (of what we can do). I feel so much better now. And, shame me if I must, but I'm happy there are like 3 people newer than me there...I like not being the new person!

Our anniversary was last Saturday. I can't believe it's been a year!! We did NOTHING haha. Well, I made homemade cinnamon rolls in the morning, then we rented a bunch of movies (Eat, Pray, Love; How to Eat Fried Worms; Mars Needs Moms; and Rango), and Ian set up tv in our room so we could just lay around all day. We had nachos for lunch with this AMAZING white cheese sauce and then we went out to dinner. There was lots of pepsi and root beer drank that day. It was perfect haha!

On Sunday Ian made beef wellington (with a few tweaks) and mint risotto. He is incredible! He really should cook more often because he's super good at it :) And of course some sparkly for celebration!!

Then yesterday I decided to go get a hair cut. Ugh Ugh Ugh! On the left is what it was supposed to look like, on the right is what she did! I was SO mad! I showed her the picture, showed her on me where I wanted it to hit, and she still cut it like a bowl all around my head. And I said to be sure there is no step in the back with the layers....guess what....THERE IS! It's not even like it's a random photo that she could have messed up...IT'S ME! ugh. And we're taking staff pictures next month. I am so mad. 

I don't even know what to do to fix it. Any suggestions?? Should I cut it shorter so it looks like it's supposed to be short and not a bowl or how can I style this so I don't look like friggin Willy Wonka?! 

Should I just get myself a top hat??

Phineas and Ferb!!!!!

So, I have a confession. I love phineas and ferb! Today was the premiere of their movie and we have been looking forward to it's release for months!!

Ian even took the night off :)

We made brownies (just because yesterday the pan was dirty haha), and pretzels...in the shape of p's and f's!!!!! We also has pizza and fanta (he he he)!! It was a great night! We are so full but it was nice to have a date night that cost all of $6 and we are fed for days haha!!

If you didn't watch it, you are severely missing out!

Go!! Watch it now!!!

Best zucchini EVER

Oh my gosh, I'm still smiling from this stuff and I ate it over 30 minutes ago!

I bought a yellow zucchini at the farmers market last week and I finally got around to cooking it today. I've only ever made it sautéed, which is cool, but it just doesn't have a big umph to it.

So I umphed it.


I took the zucchini and peeled it. I am not sure if you're supposed to peel them, but it worked well for this. After peeling off the top layer and throwing it away, I continued to peel. I peeled and peeled and peeled. It looked like fettuccine! I stopped at the seed layer. I am sure (now) it would work to go all the way through, but it was a big zucchini so stopping at the seed layer was plenty for the two of us. I sauteed them with olive oil and butter (I'm not sure why but it's just better that way). I put on a few healthy shakes of italian seasoning.

After they sauteed down for a bit I added a magical can of Rotel tomatoes. Oh. My. Goodness. I let it all cook together and then I dug in.

Oh, and I topped it with shaky cheese...um...I mean...parmesan cheese. I know it's wrong, but I don't like "real" parmesan. I like the stuff that comes in the plastic bottle with the green lid that you toss on spaghetti. mmmm... so good!

Thank you to my new favorite website, mybakingaddiction.com.

I was assigned to make a treat for the birthday of a girl in Relief Society today. I didn't know what to make but I know I always get a lot of chocolate on my birthday (not that I'm complaining!!!) so I decided to get a little bit of a fresher, cleaner taste.

I have made lemon sugar cookie before but it was crispity crunchity icky uckity haha... so I specifically looked for chewy. I HATE CRUNCHY COOKIES!!

Mmm, don't they look delicious?? Question...when I used my cheap practically paper thin metal pan they were puffy like the picture. When I used my expensive air insulated cookies they were thin. They are still good, but why do I have the expensive ones???


Anywho, here's the recipe!!

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

adapted from Rock Recipes

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lemon, finely minced
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. 

    Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

    Makes approximately 24-30 cookies depending on size

Copyright © 2010 My Baking Addiction. All rights reserved. www.MyBakingAddiction.com

Cheesy Zucchini and Mint Risotto

I had an emotionally trying day today so after church and a bowl of mac&cheese (seriously, that stuff is comfort food to me!) I took a long nap. I had a friend coming over with zucchini today and I really wanted to see her, but I just couldn't stay awake anymore! Seriously, why does crying drain a person so much?! 


I woke up to the delicious smell of zucchini cooking. I couldn't place the other smells but I knew there was zucchini in there and that was enough to get me out of bed! Ian wouldn't let me in the kitchen, not even to clean up afterwards (win!!) so I waited in the living room trying to figure out what it was. I couldn't do it. All I had was zucchini haha!!


I found this on my plate. (Ok, not really. This is a picture I jacked from someone else's blog because I was too hungry to take a picture.)

http://fivechefsandamom.blogspot.com/2011/01/cheesy-zucchini-and-mint-risotto.html

And as long as we're being honest, I'm just grabbing what she typed about it too. I'm tired and it's already there!!

You'll need:
1 small zucchini
1 small bunch of fresh mint
1 4oz. of buffalo mozzarella
1 small red onion
1 stick of celery
5 oz. risotto
1 3/4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 medium fresh red chili
1 oz. Parmesan cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Place a large saucepan on low to med. heat.
Dice onion and celery
Add a tablespoon of butter to the hot pan with the onion and celery, a splash of olive oil and a splash of water.
Cook over a low heat for around 5 min., stirring occasionally, until softened.
Bring the veg. broth to a boil in a med. saucepan, the turn heat down to low.
Trim the zucchini ends and dice.
Pick the leaves off the mint stalks and put them to the side. Add the stalks to the saucepan of the broth.
Finely grate the Parmesan.
Once the veggies are soft (not browned) add the risotto to the pan.
Stir and fry the risotto for a min. until translucent, then add the wine and keep stirring until all the wine has been absorbed by the rice.
Turn the heat under the rice up to med. then add a ladle full of hot broth, avoiding the mint stalks (only in there for flavor).
Stir constantly and continue adding brother, a ladle at a time, waiting for the risotto to soak it all up before adding the next ladle full. Contunil until you've used 2/3 of the broth.
Finely chop the mint leaves and the chili. (keep seeds if you like it spicy)
Stir the diced zucchini into the broth and keep adding the broth by the ladleful until the risotto is just cooked and had a nice oozy consistency. If you run out of broth, use boiling water.
Take the pan of the risotto off the heat.
Tear the ball of mozzarella into pieces and stir into the pan with half of the chopped mint.
Stir through half of your grated parmesan.
Taste the risotto and season well with pepper and a pinch of salt.
Serve onto plate and top each one with the remaining parmesan, a sprinkle of chopped mint and fresh chili and then tuck in.
Enjoy!
(photo credit: http://www.imnojamieoliver.com/?p=460)
(recipe credit: Jamie Oliver 20 Min. Meals iPhone App)

Ian made some obvious edits to the recipe, like leaving out the wine, and he didn't know we had any broth so he used cream of chicken soup plus some water. He's so cute :) He also didn't have mozzarella so he used cheddar. He left out the onions because he hates onions, and we don't have any celery. And no chili because I can't do spice. And we don't have risotto rice so he used regular long grain rice. OTHERWISE it's exactly the same haha!!

I love my husband...he's such a good cook. He just doesn't do it very often! Maybe I'll start taking more Sunday naps!!!

Mmm pasta salad

Today was a bit of a disappointment: I got rejected again from donating plasma! Every time I go in there is something else that happens. This time they said my pulse was too high. I HAD TO PEE!!! I was anxious because something always happens and I really had to go but they wouldn't let me! And then I was getting upset...not great ways to relax haha!!

But a great friend is staying with us so that's awesome, and tonight I made lemon pepper chicken pasta salad, so that's awesome too.  So overall a great day!

Pasta salad

Lemon juice
Pasta (I used rotini, I think)
Chicken
Frozen peas
Cheddar cheese
Lawry's Lemon pepper marinade

Dice the chicken up into small bits and cook on medium heat, covered, in a couple splashes of lemon juice.

In a large bowl add the frozen peas with a couple spoonfuls of the pasta water to warm them up. Don't use too much water though!

Make pasta according to directions but rinse on super cold water. Like COLD!! Add to the peas, and drain of the liquid from the chicken. Add it to the pasta and stir quickly to cool it off with the COLD pasta.

Cut the cheese (hehe) into small, tiny, itty bitty pieces. Make sure the pasta and chicken are not hot and add the cheese. Squirt in some marinade and toss it all together. Chill it all for about 10 minutes our until you can't stand the wait anymore!!

Happiness

So I haven't found another job yet...I'm a little nervous but it's only been a week and a half.

In this week and a half I have laughed more, smiled more, and enjoyed more time with Ian. We made a promise to each other that we will have gut busting laughter everyday and we have. Sometimes it doesn't come until 10 pm (sorry neighbors) but it comes and that's what is important. I'm so happy now. I've been feeling better about myself and better about life.

And I made DELICIOUS chocolate chip cookies the other day. I don't remember if I posted about the cookies I made after we moved here....they were awful. They were basically paper thin and all formed into one giant cookie. Very unpleasant!

Ian and his friend are doing storage auctions and won a couple this weekend and we've been moving stuff around and getting things sold. They have a website and are selling things on craigslist too, so if you need stuff for the house check it out :)

I'm thinking we're really going to enjoy this summer break....

Pineapple Rice and Pork Chops

Yeah, that stomach bug SUCKED! I lost six pounds though!

Sunday to Wednesday...ugh had barely any food! But things are getting back to normal; I'm eating so that means I'm cooking!!

Today for lunch I made broiled pork chops and pineapple rice! I found out that broiling is basically indoor grilling (you get the same cooking results) so that is our cooking method of choice lately!

The sauce we got at the store a few weeks ago and I wasn't too sure about it at the time but it sounded delicious today. It's from Kikoman (my favorite brand of sauce) and it's the garlic and green onion flavor. And call me superficial but I think the bottle makes it look fancy too. What can I say, advertising works on me!

Mmm, doesn't that just look delicious??

thank you kikoman website for the fancy picture

Pineapple rice is easy to do! I learned how to do it with mandarin oranges when I was a kid. I make my rice at a 2:1 ratio of water to rice. I use a can of pineapples (fresh pineapples are great but canned come with the juice, unless you want to buy that separate) and separate the juice. Just replace the water with the juice until you reach your ratio or run out of juice, then use water. I use a rice cooker, I don't know how to cook rice on the stove without destroying the rice and the pan. 

Like I said, I've done it with other juices like mandarin, and I really want to try different ones. A friend suggested coconut milk but I've had a bad experience with coconut rice. It was at a restaurant that was a semi-fast food place so it was not even made to order rice, but it was a little scarring. I bet lemon would be good, and a peppered steak or chicken breast. Mmmm. Or I wonder if I could do something like an apple rice for rice pudding?? Hmm, that would be good I think. Nice thing about rice? It's CHEAP! So if it doesn't come out well get rid of it. Or have your husband that tries anything eat it while you pout and have a bowl of cocoa krispies...um....yeah....that's happened a few times. 

And for dinner? Boxed mac and cheese. Yeah. It was delicious. Deal with it ;)

So sick...

Yesterday I made that yummy gorilla bread, but since I woke up at 5:30 in the morning I figured that's why I slept during church.
I felt a bit nauseas when I got home so I had some pasta. Then I took another nap and was out cold for like 3.5 hours. I couldn't figure out why my phone said it was 6:30 pm, I really thought I slept through the night.

Then the stomach cramps started. I won't go into the details but it was a long night! I fell asleep at 4 this morning. Went to my nanny job because she had a final to take but dropped her kids off with her after her test. Then I slept more this afternoon and had fevers off and on all day.

I have been trying to drink water but it cramps my stomach every time. I tried some soup, not good. I tried crackers, better than soup but still not good. When I realized it'd been 36 hours since I really ate anything I tried a slice of bread...the verdict is still out on that.

Sorry, not a happy or pleasant post, but thats life. Any suggestions on what to do? When should I go to the doctor, if I should?

Recipes

So I updated some posts with recipes.

Go here if you want a filling dessert-for-breakfast Gorilla Bread!!!

Easiest Pizza recipe EVER can be found here!!

My mom's amazing homemade bread that I thought was going to be the hardest thing to make but it wasn't!!

Delicious lemonade can be found here!!

I'm sorry if I've messed anyone's readers up with reposting things. I thought I could tag posts without having to republish. But hey, it's all good right :)

Gorilla Bread

So this morning I woke up grumpy as all get out. I decided that the only thing that was going to make me happy was if I started cooking. So this morning I made monkey bread. Complete with pictures for your viewing pleasure :D

I don't know what my computer is doing, but it said the pictures weren't actually on my computer after I uploaded them so these are unedited from my phone. Sorry!!!

So I took a couple recipes from online and made them my own. I got the dough here (baking bites) and the topping here (pioneer woman). I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post their recipes in here, so just go there and find it!

I added honey to the dough, just a squirt, because I think that yeast works better with a little sugar. Everything (and everyone) likes a little suga' hehe!

Our house is COLD in the morning! We leave the windows open at night and needless to say, it is not the ideal dough rising situation first thing in the morning! So while I was making the dough I preheated the oven to 200º and then when the dough was mixed I turned off the oven and put it in. It wasn't too hot to cook it but warm enough to get the most amazing rise ever! Oh, and don't forget to grease your bowl...it will stick!

If you're anything like me and you have a hard time with yeasty breads actually rising, take a moment to ooh and ahh over your bread. It's going to be amazing. Knead it a few times and think to yourself, "Dang, I did such a good job!"

Tear the dough into small bits and flatten. Then grab a little piece of cream cheese (use a knife if you're a wimp) and slap it in the middle. Then roll it up and stick it on the counter.

The recipe I used made about 35 dough balls, and almost an entire package of cream cheese.

In a gallon size bag mix the cinnamon and sugar like the pioneer woman recipe says and toss the dough inside. Be careful not to squish any of the balls too much, you don't want to squish the cream cheese out!! You'll have extra cinnamon sugar at the end, but that's okay. Just save it to put on top of toast!! 

You're supposed to use a bundt pan, but I don't have one so I tried a loaf pan. Yeah, you should try two loaf pans or something else. Or a bundt pan haha! On top of the dough balls goes a mixture of butter and sugar (and the little left over bit of cream cheese). It boils over so you have to put a pan under. A smart idea would have been to line the pan with aluminum foil so I don't have to figure out how to scrub all that caramelized sugar off of it!

I HATE OUR OVEN! It burns everything, no matter the temperature, the height of the racks, the time I cook it, or anything! But yeah, it's okay. It's only the top that burnt.

Anyway, that is it. I loved the look on Ian's face when he bit in. He thought it was GRAND!! And it is!!

Doubly dute (I messed up but kept it anyway haha)

WE'RE WATCHING THE FAIRLY ODDMOVIE! It's fantastic!

So how are you all? I am doing well. Yesterday was busy! I took the kiddos out for the boy's birthday, which is today. The big 5!! He's so excited about this; it's adorable. We did the splash park and the play land at McDonald's. Then I went to work at the daycare and there were only 14 of the kids there which was a pleasant change! I got home and Ian went to a movie with his man friends haha. I don't like going to sleep without him!

Today I worked in the morning and had an important meeting afterwards. But at work we did painting with straws, potato slices, yarn, pipe cleaners, and paint brushes. It was a lot of fun!!! I should have taken pictures but it was awesome to say the least.

Now we're just chilling for the rest of the day. It's nice to have some time with Ian...oye! It's already 7 pm! Well, it's been nice haha!!

Pizza night!

I decided today that it was a baking day. I had the day off and started to make banana bread...my bananas were dead. Graveyard dead. (Funniest quote from an old tv show. It was like COPS but for ambulances. A mom calls another mom saying that the girlfriend killed her son dead, graveyard dead. Sad situation, but really, is there another level of dead I was not aware of??)

Anyway, after watching some Ugly Betty, LOVE THIS SHOW!, I decided brownies were a safe bet. And they were awesome! I love making them in a slightly smaller pan then suggested and have less thicker brownies. Why have more if they are wafer thin?!

For dinner I still wanted to cook but I didn't want to heat up the house too long so I made homemade pizza! It was amazing! I didn't wait the full hour for the dough to rise but it did great in the 30 minutes I gave it. We didn't have lots of toppings, ok any, so I did bbq chicken and pineapple. It was yummy! I've never cooked at such a high temp though and ended up burning the crust. I will try again though, it was so good and easy!

Well, I'm going to go read some more of my book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. It's fantastic and sad!!!

Oh and cross your fingers and toes and eyes and whatever else, Ian happened upon a really great opportunity for me that would be life changing. I'll keep you posted if anything comes of it!

Recipe: (from cooks.com)

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Printed from COOKS.COM

3/4 cup warm water or flat beer (105-115°F)

4 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 to 2 1/4 cups bread flour

Combine the water, sugar, and yeast together, then then salt, oil, and flour (I only use 2 cups), and let it rise. Spread it on a baking sheet and top. Bake at 455º for about 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the dough is cooked.

Oh you prickly evil plant....

I saw this plant today...

This evil....

horrid....

noxious weed...

This plant, thistle, was the worst part of my childhood. We would spend our summer days going out with loppers, garbage bags, and weed killer, and hitting the fields. We would have to lop off each purple head and put it in the bag. Then we'd have to chop it down to the roots and fill it full of weed killer. Over and over and over all summer. 

Oh yeah, we had 160 acres!!!

I swear, if we left just one plant, shoot, just one purple head, the whole field would blow up in purple by the next week. And then we'd lose another few years off our lives. 

I saw some today near my apartment, across the street. I drove by and immediately thought of those awful summer days when we'd have to carry those bags around--our hands sweating in the leather gloves that protected our hands--and walk all those feet of land. I swear, we'd walk back the same way we came and find a billion more plants.

So please Mr. Farmer, please chop down those plants and make them go away. You need to do it before I come do it. I don't want to do it, but I don't want to see them even more. 

Burns

So today I got burnt twice!! Once by flaming hot cheetos haha (those actually burned so good...a spicy food that didn't make me sick!!!). U also got a weird sunburn on my legs...complete with white patches. No, it's not like blister white, just like something was on my knees and I didn't burn there! Very odd...I'll try to post a picture.
Today our friends came over to play Quelf...a fun party game for those of you that didn't know. It was just 4 of us and it didn't get too wild because of the cards that were drawn, but I think everyone had a good time!
Afterwards Ian bought me a sno-cone because my legs hurt haha (who has seen the movie Evolution? "I need ice cream...for my butt" hahaha).
After that I found out another good friend of mine got engaged. I'm not sure when but congratulations to then and especially to my Cheeseburger and her Cheese for yesterday (don't worry of you don't get it haha).
Back to the daycare tomorrow...

4th of July

Today we woke up late (ps, I didn't fall asleep until 4 am!! Not cool!) And then we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Ian made that while I made my very first loaf of bread! It's my mom's recipe and it was seriously the easiest thing ever!


Recipe from my mom :)

2 c milk, scalded
6 TBSP butter
4 tsp salt
6 TBSP honey
2/3 c boiling water
2 TBSP yeast (2 packets at .25oz)
8 cups flour

Combine scalded milk, boiling water, butter, salt, and honey. Cool to 100º (warm to the touch). Add yeast and let it get all bubbly. Add 4 cups of flour and mix with spatula. Add dough hook to mixer and add remaining 4 cups of flour. Oil the bowl and let rise for 90 minutes or until you just cant stand it anymore haha! Beat the bread a few times with your fists and separate into two loaves. Rise again for 30 minutes. Bake at 325º for 28 minutes. Don't mess with the time, my mom has perfected this over the years!! Butter the tops when they come out of the oven.

This is amazing, thick hearty bread. Try with some cinnamon sugar (like the extra from here) on toast in the morning. Or afternoon. Or middle of the night. It's PERFECT!!!



We were going to make burgers today but we filled up on fresh hot delicious bread :) Things could be worse haha! Tonight we are going to watch the fireworks from a spot I think my friend brought me a few years ago, but I don't remember exactly. But it looks like a good spot from the map anyway! I'm excited to go because Ian is...I personally don't like fireworks that much! But they weren't bad last year and Ian was there, maybe he's my good luck charm for fireworks too...he is for everything else!!

Sleep is my frenemy

I went to bed early last night, but I had a hard time falling asleep. I woke up late this morning and after I ate breakfast I went back to bed and slept like 3 hours!!
I don't know why I am so tired! I think I'll go to bed at a normal time tonight too. But at least tomorrow is a day off too! I'm not sure how Tuesday is going to go though...late night fireworks and then work! Ian might skip work since we are going to get home a couple hours before he has to work! I wouldn't blame him at all. I'd be surprised if anyone shows up haha!!
Today we went down to the duck pond and fed the cute little ducks. They came up really close to us! Then we sat in a gazebo there and talked about how much we loved each other hahaha.
We caught up on America's Got Talent tonight too. I think last season was better than this one is going to be!! But I'll keep watching...it's what I do!
I just saw a commercial for The Lying Game on ABC Family. It seems like a knock off of Pretty Little Liars but I'm ok with that!!
I guess thats all for me, sorry. Boring day equals boring post haha!

4th of July flags!

Ok, so I wanted to do the chocolate covered strawberries, but these are cheaper!
Supplies
7 popsicle sticks
White paper
Blue paper
Silver anything (I used present bows that I cut up)
Red crayon
Process
Color 4 sticks red on one side
Leave the other 3 plain, or color them white if you want.
Glue then onto a piece of white paper the same size as the sticks.
Glue a blue square in the top left corner.
Glue on silver *stars* onto the blue paper.
Add a stick in the back across the top for support and one as a flag pole.
They are easy and quick, especially if you have the pieces cut out before you start.
Yup, thats what we are doing at the daycare this weekend!

F-R-I-D-A-Y

I guess it should really be fry-day because I'm slightly lobstery today! Took the kiddos to the park to meet their mom and stayed to chat with mom and watch the baby (10 months old) down a piece of pizza!
I raced to work, thinking I was 5 minutes late, but I ended up 25 minutes early! Oh well, i'll take the extra couple bucks!
It wasn't as bad today, at least when I had my older group. Sure, some of them have attitude, but I appreciate the fact that they can go to the bathroom on their own!
I came home exhausted and my feet hurt, so I let ian rub them. For those who know me well, thats a BIG deal! They really hurt!
I posted that I wanted to do the chocolate covered strawberries at work tomorrow but unfortunately we are going to not be doing that. Maybe i'll think of something else (aka cheaper) before tomorrow. I saw some cool things on other blogs I read, like a popsicle stick flag, but thats just not as cool :( We will do food coloring fireworks though! And it well be awesome haha!!