Christmas: The Aftermath

We had a nice quiet Christmas, just the five of us. Missed you Mom and Dad! Big hit was the wii - we played it all night and day, and all the next day and night, and... so much fun! I've got a bit of a cold, which is giving me a great excuse to just relax and snuggle up at home. Been reading a lot, working on a hat for myself, and making some ATCs for another swap. Oh, and blowing my nose just about constantly. Blech. Watched a couple good movies this week - Step Brothers (totally stupidly hilarious), and Trans Siberian (intense!) and ate a lot of good food. Hope y'all had a great holiday, and a huge thank you to everyone who sent gifts and cards. Love you!

Oh Christmas Tree

This is our second year with the fake tree...I love it! Couldn't be easier, and no messy needles everywhere. The decorating went very smoothly, mostly because I have stopped trying to control the ornament placement. I didn't say things like, "the balls go first!" or "no, spread them out!" or "don't put that one on top!" Nope, I just sat back and let them have at it, and guess what? It worked out just fine, and no tension. The photos are dark and blurry but I kinda love them like that.




So cozy and festive, why don't we have a tree in the house all year?

Bail ME Out!

Well, it's official. The latest bailout is going forward, giving the auto makers a shitload of money the government cannot afford. Awesome. This really grates my cheese. Maybe if they had started making energy efficient cars that people want to buy instead of churning out the biggest beasts possible, maybe if they made some hard changes in the way they run their business, maybe if they were ultimately accountable for their own failure...LIKE THE REST OF US. And all the billions given to the banks with no strings - where did it even go? Things are still just as effed up, even after Citibank got bailed out twice. Shaking my head. And they called Obama a socialist, HA!

OK, enough ranting. Just couldn't help myself. On the holiday front, things are winding down a bit. Christmas break starts tomorrow, kids are excited. Last minute gifts being boxed up and mailed out today. I know it's late, and I apologize peeps.

I have baked/eaten enough sweets to last until next Christmas. Favorite of the bunch:

Peanut Clusters

• 2/3 pound vanilla flavored confectioners' coating
• 1 (11 ounce) package white chocolate chips
• 1 (12 ounce) can peanuts
• 1/2 (6 ounce) package almond toffee bits (Heath Bits O' Brickle)

Line baking sheets with waxed paper. In a double boiler heat confectioners' coating until melted, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour in white chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts and almond toffee bits. Remove from heat and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool for an hour, or until hardened.


Deckin' the halls-







Notice that Evan is wearing shorts. This was a week or so ago when it was warm and sunny and felt like September. This week has been frigid. Single digits in the morning and raging wind, little bit of snow on the ground with more expected today...winter has bitch slapped us.

Sweeeet

Know what made my day even more than watching a couple size tens being hurled at W?

This!

It's a crochet hook organizer, made for me by my IGF Kate, and it completely rocks!

Look how I used to store my stuff:

And now:

My hooks are so happy with their new home! I heart it.

Stuff

• Car update: waiting on estimate for a new engine. Yep, just a little minor repair. eyeroll. Dealing with being a one car family for now.
• Scored a 19 pound turkey for $7.00, so tonight we are having Thanksgiving Part II. Since I can't drive anywhere, I will spend the day cooking and working on some crochet projects. Beth, if you're reading, I will be making your pears by special request from everyone.
• Need to get to the library. I'm reading a John Grisham book that we had at the house, not expecting a whole lot. It kind of stresses me out not to have another book waiting. Weird?
• Speaking of books, The Motel Life was so good. Sad, but wonderful. Why are most of the really good ones such heartbreakers? Maybe it's just that when it's good you really get into it and feel it more.
• Watched Heros last night, thinking the entire time, "why am I still watching this?" The first season was so good, but I've definitely lost that lovin' feeling for the show.
• Shopping for a wii for Christmas, a combined family gift this year. Hope it's not too hard to find. It's going to be a "small" Christmas, but I don't mind. I find those are the best actually.

Our Thanksgiving Was...

...exciting. We left a little bit late on our trip over the pass for dinner with the family. I had to meet up with the person that found my cell phone in the grocery store parking lot the night before. Got it back no problem, filled up the tank, hit the road with brand new tires installed Wednesday night. Everything's groovy, right? Nope. About halfway through the trip, on top of the summit, the oil light comes on, the car starts making an awful noise and shaking. Luckily, we were near an off-ramp and there is a gas station there. We limped it in, checked out the car, and eventually called a tow truck. Again, we were lucky that it was sunny and warm, the station was open, and the staff were very helpful. The tow truck driver was way cool and got us back to town pretty quickly. Then we took a taxi back to the house. This all set us back about $450. Great. That's on top of the $700 for the tires.

After we got back home, I called our friends that were having a big turkey and no company and we spent the holiday together. So great of them to include us, helped turn our crappy day around. The food was fantastic, I'm still full this morning!

Finally!

Friendship Bread Day 10/10 - Baking Day!

This is the recipe/instruction sheet that I will copy and pass out to my friends with their bags of starter. You can copy and paste it into your own document. If you've been following along, and today is your "day 10", then proceed with the baking instructions below. The bread is so worth the wait! I think I'll do an apple/cinnamon variation with vanilla pudding mix, a couple of grated apples, and some walnuts. For a really decadent version, try chocolate pudding mix, white chocolate chips, and chopped macadamia nuts. I will be giving the starter baggies to the kids' teachers tomorrow, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. It's nice to give a couple of slices of the baked bread with the starter so they know what to expect. Enjoy!

**************************************************************

Amish Friendship Bread

Copy these instructions before you start for when you are ready to pass the starter on to others. Do not use metal spoons or metal bowls for mixing. Do not refrigerate. As bag fills with gas from fermentation let the gas out, this is normal. Enter the dates below and cross out the days so you don’t loose track. Don’t panic if you go beyond a day or two simply pick up where you left off.

Day 1: Date: ____/____ Do nothing. This is the day you get the starter batter.
Day 2, 3, 4, 5: Mush the bag each day.
Day 6: Date: ____/____ add: 1 C flour, 1 C Sugar, 1 C milk.
Day 7, 8, 9: Mush the bag each day.
Day 10: Date: ____/____

Preheat oven to 325.

Pour the entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl and add 1½ C flour, 1½ C Sugar, 1½ Milk. Mix well with a wooden or plastic spoon.

Label four (4) 1 gallon zip top bags with “Day 1” and tomorrow’s date. Measure out 1 C of the batter each of the bags.

To the remaining starter batter in your bowl, add 3 eggs, 1 cup oil, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup milk, 2 cups flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 2 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, 1 5.1 oz box of instant vanilla pudding, and 1 1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Grease 2 large loaf pans and mix up an additional ½ C sugar ½ tsp cinnamon. Dust the greased pans with this mixture. Save some for the top of the bread. Pour the batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on top. Bake at 325 for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool and remove from the pan.

Keep one of the 4 gallon bags of batter for yourself and pass the other three to your friends, with a copy of these instructions.

VARIATIONS:
Banana - Omit cinnamon. Substitute banana cream pudding for vanilla. Add 2 mashed bananas.
Chocolate - Omit cinnamon and vanilla pudding from the basic recipe and add 1 - (5.1 oz) box of instant chocolate pudding, 3 tsp. cocoa and 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Bake for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours.
Apple Raisin - add one cup of raisins and one small diced apple.
Lemon-Poppy Seed – Substitute lemon pudding mix for vanilla. Substitute 2-tsp. Lemon extract for vanilla. Omit cinnamon. Add 1/4 cup poppy seed.
Cranberry – Add 1 cup of dried cranberries and 1 tsp orange zest.

This batter is very versatile and can be used to make muffins or bundt cakes, just adjust the baking time accordingly.

********************************************************************

Monday Again?

Friendship Bread Day 9/10: Release any accumulated air from baggie and squish to mix several times today. Tomorrow is baking day!

Made a mini album for Evan yesterday, all about yakin'. Seeing his face light up when he looked through it reminds me why I scrapbook.

.

The title letters on the cover were cut by the ever talented lpmkate. I love them! Evan did his own journaling:

Sunday

Friendship Bread Day 8/10: Release any accumulated air from baggie and squish to mix several times today. Should be getting nice and bubbly.


Scrapping on a budget: Just did another reduce, reuse, recycle ATC card swap. Love the concept of this, especially these days when le budget is nil. I cut up cereal boxes for the base of the cards - I happen to have several dozen for sale in my etsy shop all ready to go. Shameless plug I know. Anyway, then I used the edges from our dot matrix printer paper for the background, stamped the tree on newspaper, and voila! The woodgrain dymo tape is killer, and it goes with the whole theme. Thanks Linda for sending it to me! So, these little guys cost next to nothing to make.

Can't wait to get the rest of the set, especially Kate's celeb trash collage card, I freaking love those.

Off to work on my recipe cards, and maybe some "real" scrapping too. Later!

Saturday

Friendship Bread Day 7/10: Release any accumulated air from baggie and squish to mix several times today.

Cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week. I would love to make a turkey like this,

but I am not cooking. We are going to spend the day with the family in Roseville, a little road trip so let's hope the weather stays nice. We'll miss you Shad, Sharon, Dani, and Logan! Remember when you guys were out here and we had Thanksgiving at your place? So fun. Although your turkey was not nearly as sexy as this one.

TGIF!

Friendship Bread Day 6/10: Release any accumulated air from baggie and squish to mix several times today.

TGIF is right, what a week! Mad busy, pretty tuckered. Taking Hannah out to see a show tonight, a little girls' outing. It's a "holiday ice spectacular" which I think she'll enjoy, and I will try to not be too scroogy. Shannon scored us some free tickets, third row. Sweeeet.
Guns N Roses released their new album today, although the only thing GNR about it is Axl Rose. I didn't buy it (got to make that clear) but I did find a vid on youtube. Fun fact: it is the most expensive cd ever made at $10 million.



I like that song ok, but really...this one kicks it's ass.

Thurrrrsday

Friendship Bread Day 5/10

You will need:

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

In a bowl (remember, do not metal bowls or spoons), combine flour and sugar, then mix in milk with a wooden spoon. Add this mixture to your starter in the baggie and squish to mix. Done.

Random video of the day:

Hump Day

Friendship Bread Day 4/10 - release any accumulated air from baggie and squish to mix several times today.

Had fun out on the town last night. Played shuffleboard (actually very fun and not just for geriatrics), did a little gambling in the penny machines, drank many beers, and ate a nice greasy breakfast at a truck stop on the way home at midnight. Good times indeed.

Tonight is Jordan's first orchestra concert of the year. Always cool to go and hear them play. He's also working on what sounds like an amazing ceramics project, can't wait to see the finished product.

Ok, off to work. I need aspirin.

Tuesday

Friendship Bread Day 3/10: Release any accumulated air from baggie and squish to mix several times today. You might notice that it is kind of stinky, that is perfectly normal.

Had the weirdest lunch yesterday. Shane and I went to a new taco place that an acquaintance of ours opened recently. No one working there seemed to know what was going on. Problems ordering, confusion as to how the food would find us outside, and a total lack of interest in us as customers was all very odd. When the food finally arrived, they served three meals instead of two. Finally figured out what was what but my wrap was a chicken Caesar number instead of the beef/veggie that I ordered. Did I mention it wasn't cheap? It tasted fine, but overall the experience was a downer. Good luck 'Berto, you're gonna need it!

Tonight we are going out with friends coming in from Portland. Probably will hit a buffet for dinner and then do the casino thing. Hey, it's Reno, Baby!

Manic Monday

Friendship Bread Day 2/10 - release any air from the baggie and squish to mix the contents a couple times today. It will puff up as it ferments, don't be scared.

Yesterday I went to Michaels and scored some fancy pants yarn on sale - $5.99 skiens for $2.00 each! Doesn't get much better than that. Got to head back later this week to check for more colors. Hmmm, what to make with it?

Off to work for a bit - later!

Virtual Friendship Bread

You know the bread where a friend gives you a baggie of starter and a recipe, then you work on it for 10 days before baking the yummiest bread ever? If you've never tasted it, the end result is a sweet, almost dessert-y bread. You can change it up to suit your own taste, make it chocolatey or nutty or fruity, whatever!

I'd love to give you all some starter but since it would probably explode in a stinky yeast bomb somewhere in transit, I'm just going to post directions for you to begin the cycle yourself. Follow along for 10 days and you will then be able to pass some starter along.

First Step is to make the actual starter.

1 (.25 oz) pkg active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a large gallon-sized Ziploc bag, combine flour and sugar thoroughly before stirring in milk and yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon or just squish it around. Set aside on the counter, keeping it always at room temperature.

*For the entire process, do not use metal bowls or utensils*

That's it for day 1/10. It's a good idea to keep a little tally sheet of some kind with your starter so you can keep track of the days.





You won't be doing anything but stirring (wooden spoon!) or squishing for the next three days, so just relax and let it do its thing. I will be posting a little daily reminder for everyone following along.

Random Blathering

• It's Friday, the sun is shining, and my spirits are up.



• Work is staying steady, feeling cautiously optimistic.



• Pretty pissed off about the bailout package and the changes being made to it now, after congress passed it. Shaking my head really.



• Stunned that Sarah Palin is everywhere these days, apparently the new Britney. And every interview hinges on this: will she run in 2012? Were y'all listening?
  
  
  
  
• Getting a little stressed about Christmas gifting. I will be making most of the gifts this year, which means a lot of crocheting. It's good because I get my crafting fix and my loved ones get a handmade gift. Plus, it's pretty thrifty. The secret is not taking on too much.



• Making stocking hats for the family Christmas photos, one of 5 complete.



• Haven't scrapbooked in ages. I think this weekend I will make an effort to clean up the scrapshack so it's more inviting. Have a few projects floating around in my brain, ready to get to it. I've made some ATCs lately but that's about it.



• I really don't get adults baby talking. It freaks me out. Unless you're actually talking to a baby, knock it off!



• Did Heros hire the writers from Lost?



• Hopelessly addicted to the Bubble Words game on facebook.



• Really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. My favorite thing on the weekends is to wake up nice and slowly with coffee and a book in bed.

Happy Weekend!

Sunday

I made this hat for one of Hannah's friends for a birthday gift. I think it turned out super cute! Hannah thought so too, she didn't want to take it off. Evan dubbed it "hella tight" and put in a request for one of his own. I have a feeling that I will be making more of these...after the blister on my thumb heals! The pattern uses three strands of yarn and I went down a hook size for a smaller hat - hella tight is right! I got a giant blister on my thumb...that's some extreme crocheting! The pattern is by Dot - here is a link.


This one is blurry because she wouldn't hold still:

Off to the grocery...big fun!

Injury Report

The other day at school Evan ran full on into the swing set pole. He was looking behind him to catch a ball and...wham. Poor guy had the biggest bump I've ever seen on his forehead, right between the eyes. The swelling has gone down and now he's got a bit of a black eye. Insert horribly lit photo:

It was really just a matter of time until this happened. He is always zoning in on something and forgetting to watch where he's going, it's pretty funny. But that bump wasn't funny, it was hecka big. (Those are his words)

The scarf came out like this:

Kinda fun, kinda funky. The felting process did funk it up a bit but I like it.

Going to a part tonight with my main squeeze, it's about time we had a date!

A Scarf

Looking for a new project, I found this pattern online. Big thanks to the author! The finished scarf is pictured here:



I have a bunch of wool leftovers in my stash so I decided to go with the felted version in these colors:

It was so fun making all the circles! Makes me want to try a granny square blanket. Like this one, which I am in love with!


Joining the circles together:

The almost finished product:


Now comes the scary part, the felting. I'm just about to put the scarf in the washer, crossing my fingers that it felts up nicely and doesn't get all funkified.

Yes.

It's true. Barack Obama is president elect and Bush is now officially a lame duck. I am so relieved that the election went smoothly with no shenanigans. But mostly, I am inspired. Inspired that we have a leader that will bring us together as a country, and listen to the people. Inspired and relieved that those spewing racist hatred are a minority. Inspired and proud that we will have a representative for America that speaks for me, that may be able to improve our image abroad. That is hugely important to me. I read this article on that point today. And I am inspired by the record voter turnout - the people really do pay attention and want change. Congratulations America, you have spoken! But we need to keep on speaking out...be the change, make it happen. Yes We Can!

Today's The Day

Finally. The longest campaign in history comes to a close today. I will be glued to the TV this evening, watching the results come in. Crossing my fingers for a landslide, cannot deal with another 2000 debacle.

Not giving away who I voted for, but here's a hint:



Get out and vote! Do your homework and cast your ballots, it's your right and your duty. Unless you're voting Republican - that's tomorrow. (kidding, folks)

If you are living under a rock or with your head in the sand and missed the action, here's a campaign recap for you:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Click here to read about the stupidest things that happened during the election.

The Office

I recently did an ATC swap with cards inspired by the ever hilarious Office - I chose Dwight because he is my fave. The whole set is pretty cool, take a look:

And for your viewing pleasure:

The Day After

Had tons of fun last night! The kids went trick-or-treating with the neighbors and got POUNDS of candy. I'm trying to stay away from it because I've got a wee bit of a toothache, but I do love me some fun-sized candy.

We went to a party with our (very) last minute costumes. I was white trash and Shane was...stunning. He went into the store on the way to the party dressed like that, it was hilarious!

Our hosts: Governor Sarah Palin and her security detail, Agent Orange.

I found out lots of interesting things about Caribou Barbie and even got an autographed photo.

Good times, totally fun to dress up and be silly. And that New Belgian 1554 was pretty tasty.

Now I'm ready for a lazy day around the house. It's stormy out and I feel like hibernating. Jammies, slippers, hot tea, a good book...yeah, that's the ticket!

Happy Halloween!

Get yer spook on:

Yeeeee Haw!

The theme for Hannah's music program at school was "The West." I stayed up until 1:00am making this hat for her to wear:


It was all worth it when she saw it in the morning and said, "Wow, I can't believe you made this!" Cutie pie.

The kids all looked so cute and the songs were really fun. We have the best music teacher, she has got to be the most patient person on the planet.

No school tomorrow, hurray for the three day weekend! The kids are also off next Tuesday, and the following Tuesday. It totally messes me up having Tuesday off. Why can't Veteran's Day be on Monday? Wouldn't that make more sense? And why do they have election day off? The kids aren't voting, and some parents might have a harder time voting with their kids at home. So glad I voted early. I will be mighty glad when the election is over and done with. It better be a landslide, that's all I'm sayin'.

Happy Birthday!

Look who turned 8 on Saturday!

He spent the day doing his favorite things: kayaking with Dad, opening presents, eating pizza, watching a movie, and playing with friends. Perfection!