Pretzel Bites

I have made pretzels before.  Long, long ago.  I think it was before kids.  They aren't difficult to make.  I'm not sure why I haven't made them more?

These little pretzel bites are quite tasty, warm, right out of the oven.  RT was so into them I had to hold him back from eating them all.  In fact, he ran out to the store for some honey mustard to put on the pretzel bites (or use as a dip).

I don't think these are going to last long.  I will definitely be making another batch soon.

Here's the recipe, taken from Sally's Baking Addiction:

Pretzel Bites

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (lukewarm is okay)
1 packet instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (not hot)
3.75-4.25 cups all purpose flour, plus more for the counter to knead dough
1 large egg, beaten
coarse sea salt for sprinkling


What to do:

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir with spoon until fairly mixed.  Add salt, sugar and butter.  Stir until mixed.  Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time.  Mix with wooden spoon until dough is thick.  Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.  If it is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more.  Poke dough with your finger.  If it bounces back, it is ready to knead.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface.  Knead dough for about 3 minutes.  Shape into a ball.  Place in large mixing bowl (that has been greased with spray, butter, coconut oil).  Cover and let rest in warm area for about 10 minutes.

Oven 425F degrees.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper (or silicone baking mats) and set aside.

With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough into 6 sections.  Roll the dough into six 20" long ropes.  Cut the rope into 1.5" pieces to make bites.

Boil 4 1/2 cups water with 1/4 cup baking soda.  Drop 8-10 pretzel bites into water and let sit for about 20 seconds.  Remove with a spatula or tongs and place on baking sheet.  Make sure bites aren't touching.

Brush bites with beaten egg and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and serve alone or with honey mustard or cheese sauce.  Pretzel bites remain fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

These are so good, I don't think they will last more than 3 days.  I know they won't last more than a day here.  :)

Pretzel bites can be frozen for up to 3 months. Just thaw them out and reheat in the oven at 300F degrees until warm.

Enjoy!

Felt Gingerbread House Ornament

We had so much fun making the felt Christmas Tree Ornament, that I decided to make a gingerbread house ornament.

Supplies needed:
felt (brown, white (or cream)
buttons
thread
embroidery thread (optional)
scissors
paper
pencil
ruler
ribbon

I made a template on my paper.  Using my ruler, I measured my square  ".  I made the top of my house by finding the center and measuring up half of the houses length.  Cut out your template, place on felt and trace using your pencil.  Make two (one for the back of your ornament).

Using my template, I made a triangle on the cream colored felt and started cutting.  I tried to cut the bottom part like snow hanging from the roof.

I sewed the "snow" onto the house.  I guess you could use hot glue.  I find sewing by hand relaxing.  Well, when it's fun stuff, not when I have to sew on a million patches onto a brownie uniform.  Next came the buttons and door (once again, I cut this out of the cream felt, I did not have a template, just free handed it).  I decided to use red embroidery thread on the window to make it festive, and, possibly look like a piece of candy (not sure if that worked).

Once I was done, I sewed a little ribbon to the back so I can hang as an ornament and then sewed the other piece of felt onto the back (again, you can probably hot glue the back on).

And, there you have it.  An easy to make felt gingerbread house ornament.  Makes a great ornament, or attachment to a gift.

Have you made any ornaments this year?

Felt Christmas Tree Ornament

I was looking for an easy sewing craft for Bella. I thought it would be fun for her to learn how to sew. I thought I would start with felt. It's easy to use and we can make some fun things out of felt.  We started with a felt Christmas tree ornament.

Supplies needed:

Green felt

Paper 

Pencil

Needle

Thread 

Optional: buttons, rick a rack, ribbon, sequins, etc. 

Start by folding your piece of paper in half and drawing a (Christmas) tree. Cut out tree, unfold and you have your tree template.

I cut Bella's a little wider than her drawing. 

Trace your tree (using the pencil) onto the felt. Cut tree out. (If making an ornament or pillow, cut out two) 

This is where you let the creative juices flow. Using your buttons, Rick rack, sequins, etc. start sewing them onto the felt tree. 

Felt tree with buttons

Once you have decorated your tree ornament / pillow, it's time to sew the two sides together. We sewed a little ribbon loop at the top so we can hang it from the tree. This was good practice on how to sew.  I hope Bella continues to like sewing.

This makes a wonderful first time sewing project.  Do you like to sew?  What was your first sewing project?

Peppermint Soap

You know how I love all things peppermint!

If you recall, I have made peppermint soap before on the blog.  So, it comes as no surprise that I would try making it again.  This time, I decided to try adding some soap colorant and package them with some pretty Christmas paper.

If attempting this at home, make sure to use only one drop of colorant per bar of soap.  Don't believe other blogs that show you to use three.  Not that I did that or anything......

OK, OK, I admit that I added three drops to each bar.  I was trying to give it a swirl effect and Nick commented that the soap looked, "bloody."  Thanks, Nick.

I don't think I added enough peppermint to get that tingly feeling.  I will have to wait until someone tries it.

Until then, here is my pretty (bloody) peppermint soap bars.

They make a great Christmas gift!

And, now to show you the other side of things, because, I like to keep it real here.

And, now you know why Nick called them bloody soap.

Santa Hot Chocolate Paper Holder

Found this cute idea for a Christmas gift.  Great for a teacher, coach, bus driver, baby sitter, etc.

Supplies needed:
Card stock: red, black, white, grey (or silver)
scissors
glue dots
paper and pencil (to make a template)
packet of hot chocolate

I tried to freehand a template for this Christmas mug, and, guess what?  It worked!  First fold your paper in half.  I used an 8.5"x11" piece of paper.  I put the two 8.5" sides together and drew a cylinder and cut it out.  I opened the paper and cut out a half circle out (to look like the rim of the mug).

Hope this gives a better idea of what I'm talking about.

I placed the template onto the red paper, traced and cut out.  I free handed a handle to be place where you glue the mug together (using glue dots).  Added some white for the trim of Santa's suit.  Added a belt and belt buckle.  Placed my hot chocolate inside and....Done!

     Hot Chocolate Santa Sleeve

Ugly Christmas Sweater

The manager at work decided that we should all wear ugly Christmas sweaters for our sale.  She wanted to get a group picture of us and put it on the company's Face book page to thank all of our customers.

I do not own an ugly Christmas sweater.  I don't even own a pretty Christmas sweater.   In fact, I don't have any Christmas sweaters.  I was not about to purchase one to wear for one day.  I can think of better things to do with my money.   I could not find one at the thrift stores (ugly Christmas sweater parties are pretty popular these days).  So, I decided to make my own version of an ugly Christmas sweater.

I did say this is a scary journey, didn't I?

Me wearing my ugly Christmas sweater

First step.  Purchase a sweater.  I found mine at the thrift store.  Turns out it was the half price color that day, so I paid a whopping $1.50.  (SCORE!)  Next, after you wash and dry it, find some Christmassy (I'm sure that's a word) items to sew onto your sweater.  I decided to go with garland and bows.  Other choices:  ornaments, lights, pom poms, sequins or buttons.  You can make a Santa, snowman, Christmas tree or reindeer using felt and sew that on.  Use your imagination.

I had fun making my sweater.  RT got a kick out of it.  I 'm thinking I should make him a matching sweater so we can be twins.  

Our high school has a form we have to sign about giving our son's name and phone number to the military (when they turn 18). I always say "no" on these forms. I was very firm about it this year since Nick was turning 18.

I know.  At 18, he is an adult and can do (almost) anything he wants - even join the military.  I have nothing against the military.  It's just one of those items on my list of things that the boys can not do until I die.  (they know about the list and have even added to it).

Tuesday, Nick turned 18.  We had dinner.  We sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  He blew out the candles.  The phone rang and I answered.  It was someone asking for Nick.  (he has a cell phone and no one ever calls the home phone asking for him, so it was a little strange)

Me:  Who's calling?

Him:  It's ______ from the US Marines.

Me:  How did you get his name and phone number?

Him:  From the high school.

Me:  That's interesting.  I filled out a form asking that his name and number not be given out to the military.

Him:  I'm sorry.  I will put down that he is not interested.

Me:  Yes.  You do that.

I know I have no right, he is 18, an adult.  He can make his own decisions (he would have said no, by the way).  My question is why have this form when you are not going to honor the parent's decision?

I haven't spoken to the school yet.

I'm waiting to calm down.

Saint Nicholas Day

There are many stories about the life of St. Nicholas.  I found my information here.  The following is a quick summary.  Click on the link to read more details.

St. Nicholas came from a wealthy family.  His parents died when he was very young.  He grew up in his faith and strongly believed to give to the poor.  He became Bishop and was know for his generosity, love of children and concern for sailors.  Under the Roman Empire he was persecuted for his faith.  He went to prison.  He was released and died on December 6.  The anniversary of his death became a celebration known as St. Nicholas Day.

There are many variations of the story of St. Nicholas. He gave money for three poor girls dowries, he helped children, gave to the poor. Do a little research.  You will even see how Santa Claus evolved. 

We just started putting our shoes out for St. Nicholas in the last couple if years. It's a fun tradition and the kids love it. 

Do you have any special traditions you do with your family during the holidays?

Time to make the lunches

Do you remember the commercial from the 80's about Making the Donuts?  It was a commercial for Dunkin Donuts, where the guy got up early and all he thought about (and said) was, "Gotta make the Donuts."  He woke up early, didn't seem too enthused about it, but, he did it.

That's exactly how I feel about making lunches.

My mom used to complain about making lunches for us when we were growing up.  We got to an age and she made us make our own.  I didn't see what the big deal was about making lunches.  It's not THAT difficult.  Put things in there that you would want to eat for lunch the next day.  Easy, right?

Then, I had kids of my own and had to make lunches.

It all started out fun.  Making a lunch here and there.  Putting in things that you know your child will eat (and that will survive in a paper bag/lunch box until lunch time).

Then came the requests.  Those were a great help because after awhile, you run out of fun ideas.  Unfortunately, the ideas stop and I was left on my own again.  Lunch making is now the time I dread.  I feel like I'm making the same lunch for all of the kids.

Just like in the Dunkin Donuts commercial, I have to keep going. Come rain, sun, sleet, snow I still have to make the Donuts....I mean the lunches.*

*those are links to two different commercials. Check them out. 

Yummy Cupcakes

I finally found a delicious cupcake recipe from scratch.  Yes, using a box mix is a lot easier to make, but, I was looking for something healthy.  In other words, I wanted to know ALL of the ingredients in my cupcake.

I found this recipe in the newspaper a few years ago and love it.

The Perfect Cupcake

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 T warm water
1 t vanilla extract

Oven to 400 degrees.  Line your muffin tin.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Alternate adding eggs and flour (starting with and ending with the egg), beating until each is thoroughly mixed.
Divide batter into muffin tins.  Bake until fully cooked and golden, 15-17 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.  Put on wire rack to cool.


A few side notes:

I don't add the full cup of sugar (surprise, surprise).  If you are going to frost them, there's your added sugar.  :)

I have also made these cupcakes and substituted coconut oil.  They turned out delicious! (and healthy, too!)

B A Bay

For those of you that watched the Three Stooges you probably recognize that title. If not, then watch this here.

When I was growing up, I remember watching this episode and singing along. I don't remember singing it THAT much.  Maybe my brothers were singing it, too?  I don't know. 

I remember my Dad came home from work one day and asked us to sing the song. Apparently he heard us sing it so much that he was singing it all day long at work. Unfortunately he only knew one line ("B-A-Bay) and sang it over and over.  I think he figured if the song is stuck in his head, he might as well learn the whole song. I thought it was funny that he was singing it. I didn't think he heard it that many times. I don't think he was too amused about singing it. Especially when he only knew one line of the song. (Luckily he had a sense of humor)

You're probably wondering why I brought this up. Obviously there's a story behind all of this singing. 

 Well, I was having a similar experience last night. Bella is learning to play the recorder this year. She happened to find one inside the piano bench and started playing. She only knows two notes: A and B.  She also knows a song using those two notes. It goes like this:

B  A   Blues
Got me in the groove
Every body singing
B  A   Blues

Hearing Bella play and sing this song over and over (and over and over) reminded me of my Dad singing the Three Stooges song. I knew I would get this song stuck in my head.  I was already singing along with her (and without her).   I would probably be singing it for a couple of days. 

Although, after watching that clip..."B A Bay, B E BE, B I Bicki Bi, B O Bo...."

You know you've hit rock bottom when you go to the grocery store like you have just rolled out of bed (because you pretty much have just rolled out of bed).  In sweats and boots, haven't combed your hair or washed your face.  Hoping and praying that you don't see anyone that you know.

Palmer Candy Cane Cups

If you like peppermint (like me) and chocolate, you have to try this candy. 

Found this bag at the dollar store. 

Bite sized chocolate candy cups. They look a lot like the Reese's peanut butter cups but, instead of peanut butter, these are filled with peppermint candy. 

How good is it?

Lets just say that I don't plan on sharing. 

In not sure what it is, but, lately RT has gotten quite chatty. The only problem with this new found "chattiness' is that it takes place at 4am.

As you may recall from many of my posts, for some reason, I wake up in the middle of the night.  I don't physically get up out of bed.  I just stay in bed and try to get back to sleep.  RT realizes I must be awake if I get up to go to the bathroom.  (I'm awake, but, sometimes tired enough to (maybe) fall back asleep).  RT doesn't see it that way.  He just starts talking to me.  It's like he's been waiting all night for me to wake up so he can talk to me.

I don't want to be rude.  I just want to get a little more sleep.  I try to mumble something, like I'm half asleep.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Unfortunately, my big dreams of falling back to sleep are broken, and I am wide awake until I finally roll out of bed.

You know me, I love a good conversation, but, not in the middle of the night when I still have a good few hours to sleep.

The lack of sleep makes me tired earlier in the evening.  Going to bed earlier would be nice, then I can catch up on the lost sleep.

Or, maybe RT can just have these conversations with me during my awake hours.

"Yes, officer, I realize I was speeding, but, I just picked my son up from basketball and he waits until he gets to the car to release his gas.  My car smells like a big fart.  I wanted to get home and breathe some fresh air.  I figured driving fast with the windows down would help get some fresh air in the car and get me home to safety faster."

Doesn't this happen to everyone?

I had a parent meeting at school.  Nothing bad.  It was for parents of the basketball players.  Yes.  Alex made the basketball team.  #proudmom

Alex asked me to bring his back pack to school so he could work on homework while I was in the parent meeting.  I thought nothing of it, until I tried to lift the bag.  I casually grabbed it and tried lifting and almost pulled my back out.  He claims it was his Algebra book.   I don't think an Algebra book can weigh THAT much.

I think he loaded it up with rocks before he left.

Bella has been asking me for candy (from her Halloween stash).  Yes, she still has some Halloween candy left.  I'm nice and say OK, even though I know she probably already has had a few pieces to eat.  She always denies sneaking candy.  Never mind the candy wrappers laying all over the floor of her room.

Today I was cleaning under the couch cushions and along with the quarter and comb I found, there was a bunch of candy wrappers.  I had to move the couch to make sure she didn't hide any under there.  The last time I moved the couch (oh, less than a week ago) there were quite a few wrappers.
Bella denied that the wrappers were hers.

OK, lets think about this for a minute.  Alex drops his empty wrappers on the floor of his bedroom right by his bed.  Nick didn't have any candy.  If he did, he would throw the wrapper in his wastebasket.  RT throws out his empty candy wrappers (he has a couple hidden stashes of candy that he doesn't think I know about).  If I have candy, I throw the wrapper out.  If the dogs got into the candy (which doesn't usually happen) they would just eat the wrapper. That leaves only one person that could be responsible for all of the empty wrappers laying around the house.

I should be a detective.

Even with all of this information, Bella would still deny any part of the candy and the empty wrapper and storm off yelling about how life is so unfair and she is always blamed.

So, to avoid all of the drama, I just clean the empty candy wrappers up and move on.

Birthday Beach Bash

Yes.  It's November.  Which means only one thing.  Bella's Birthday Party!

This year's birthday party theme was a Beach party.  Yes.  She should have been born in the summer, her favorite season.

For the party invitations, (I free handed) a flip-flop.  I typed out the party information, making sure that it was centered, and cut it out into the shape of a (smaller) flip flop.  I used two pieces of ribbon (maybe 2-2.5" long, each) as the straps and secured them at the top (for the toes) using a foam heart.  I made them so that they will fit inside a regular envelope.

The wording (and card idea) I found on a card on the Internet.

Please flip-flop, run or hop, surf or dash to Bella's Birthday Beach Bash.
When:
Where:
RSVP:
Beach attire encouraged

(turns out it was about 40F here...great weather for beach attire, huh?)

Our first activity was a craft (of course).  We decorated tote bags.  I had a few large foam stamps and bought some fabric paint and let the girls decorate their bag.  They brushed on the fabric paint (onto the stamp) using a foam sponge and then stamped their bag.  To keep it simple, I just designated a color for each stamp.  This eliminated the need to wash the stamp when one of the girls wanted to use a different color paint on the stamp.  I think in the end, they were mixing the colors (which looked pretty cool).

We played your usual beach birthday games.  Limbo, freeze dance, hula dancing*, (yes, we learned the hula) and the macarena.   We had a beach ball, which turned into a game of tossing the ball to each other.  With the music playing, I don't think they cared what they were doing, they were just having fun.

*I watched a few YouTube videos and learned a few basics for hula dancing.  It's pretty easy to learn.  I'm not a professional after a few viewings, but, maybe with practice?  Nah, it will never happen.

The girls loved doing the limbo.  I think we did this several times.  And, the Macarena was a HUGE hit.

Cupcakes:  Blue frosting (for the water) with a shark, ground up graham crackers (put them in the food processor until fine) for sand (island/beach) and a palm tree.

Decorations:  I had Bella make some signs to put up around the basement.  I wasn't feeling well and, figured that it's her party, let her help make the decorations, right?  Our signs:

No Lifeguard on Duty:  Swim at your own risk

Shark area

No Diving  Shallow area

Snorkeling area

We also put up our flower chain.  I cut out millions of flowers and taped them onto a ribbon that RT hung throughout the basement (and kitchen).

Goody bags:

The usual girly stuff.  Small bottle of nail polish (gotta have cute toes on the beach), a sparkly head band (gotta hold the hair back when catching those rays), sunglasses (need those too) and a flip flop note pad (found that one at Orientaltrading.com).  Oh, and I made some little flower hair clips.  I found the flowers at Dollar Tree, cut the wire stems and hot glued them onto little clips (purchased at Michael's).  

Breakfast started off with me burning my toast. 

We had game night at work and a few of us were playing a game called Xoom Cubes (pronounced, "Zoom Cubes").  I love games with letters/words.  Probably the reason why my family refuses to play Banana grams with me (I beat the pants off them every time).

Anyway, we decided to play 5 letter words.  The first round, my manager grabs the flag and says, "zoom."  One of my co-workers (who isn't playing) reads the words and says, "Is teets a word?"  The rest of us burst out laughing.  The manager said that the word is "teeth."  (she was using a wild card as the letter  "h."

The next round we went with two four letter words.  My manager won again.  One of her words was, "buns."

I think, "teets" and "buns" is all that we will remember when explaining the game to customers.

Parent of the Year

Apparently I won't be winning Parent of the Year this month.

I was out running errands all morning and got home after 12:00pm.  I decided to eat lunch.  I opened the refrigerator and realized that Bella forgot her lunch.  She eats lunch at 11:15am.  It was too late to bring it to school.  I wondered why no one called.  There were no calls to my cell phone.  I checked the home phone and Bella left two messages asking that her lunch be dropped off at school.

I promise to try harder next month.

I like how the dogs drink half a bowl of water. It's like they know I have to leave for work in ten minutes. 

Scary Journey's Halloween Pony Tail Craft with Brownie Troop

At our Brownie meeting, we celebrated Juliette Gordon Low's birthday.  We read the interactive poem about JGL (the girls love doing it).  Click here to get the poem.  We also decided to do the other poem out there (we cut it short and didn't have them sing the entire verse of "London Bridge, just the first line)  You can find that one here.  We even sang "Happy Birthday" to JGL and had cupcakes.

We decided to have the girls do a little craft at our meeting.  We picked something simple yet very useful (well, at least for our girls), a Halloween ribbon pony tail.

These are so easy to make.  I'm sorry I didn't take pictures of supplies or the process, but, I promise it's pretty easy.  I'm sure if you do a search, you can get pretty pictures.  If not, this is really easy

What you need: 
Pony tail (we chose black to go with Halloween colors)
ribbon (we used orange and black for Halloween)
scissors

Cut ribbon into 7 or 8" pieces.  We did this prior to the meeting and just handed out the supplies to the girls.   We gave each girl about eight ribbons of each color.  They might or might not use all of them.  My daughter used all of them (as you can see from the picture).  Some girls put on half of them and decided that was enough for them.

OK.  Once each child has their pony tail and ribbon it's time to get started.  Take one piece of ribbon, put one end in pony tail and make sure that the ends are equal and start to tie a knot (the first step in tying your shoe).  You can stop at that, or tie a second knot.  I think most girls tied a second knot. Next, take another ribbon and do the same thing, making sure that the knot is next to the first one (well, it can be anywhere on the pony, you don't want it on top of the first knot).  Most of the girls did a pattern with their ribbon (orange, black, orange, black).  We included one ribbon per girl that was black and had "Boo!" on it.

The ribbon colors can be adjusted and coordinated with any holiday.  Red/green for Christmas, red/white, red/pink, pink/purple for Valentines day, etc.  You can even use three colors.  Use your imagination.  :)

Pretty simple.  Once the girls completed the pony tail, they put it on.

Quick and easy (and useful)!

And then I find this note

it says, "I need to pull out teeth"

Not sure what this is supposed to mean.  Maybe it's from the Monster hiding in our basement?

Should I be scared?

The Monster hiding in our basement

This morning, I found a cereal bowl in the sink with dry cereal.  (no milk had touched it)  I figured Nick must have had cereal in the morning.  He isn't much of a breakfast person.  When he does have cereal, it's usually dry cereal.

Around dinner time, Alex comes up to me and says that we were out of milk this morning.

Me: We have 3 gallons in the refrigerator in the basement.  Why didn't you go and bring one up?

Alex:  Because of the monsters hiding in our basement.

Me:  There are no monsters in our basement.

Bella had to chime in and agree with Alex that yes we do have monsters living in our basement.

Alex:  I had to have dry cereal this morning because we didn't have milk.

And, here I thought maybe Nick had breakfast before going to school.  Instead, I find out that there are monsters living in our basement.  

Excuse # 53

"I didn't empty the dishwasher because I couldn't tell if the dishes were clean or dirty".

Um. Did you open the dishwasher and look inside?

Bella forgot her lunch. I had to drop it off at school for her.

RT forgot his pass for work. 

I forgot to put on deodorant before work. I drove back home to put it on. (Luckily I wasn't too far from home)

Looking like its going to be a great day. 

Do your laundry

The magic age is 14. That's the age that you learn how to do your own laundry (in our house). 

Once they know how to do it, I will do it for them. It's just that initial learning how to do it on your own. 

Well, that's all changed now. 

I'm tired of begging the boys to bring down their dirty clothes so I can wash them. They throw their clothes on the floor of their room instead of the hamper. I made it easy. Everyone has their own hamper in their room. How hard is it to throw your dirty clothes in when changing? 

Apparently, for my kids,  it's extremely difficult. 

So, I decided that the boys are just going to have to wash their own clothes. They're old enough. They know how to use the washer and dryer. Let them decide when they want clean clothes. 

Last night, Alex was telling me that he had to wash his clothes. 

Alex:  "How many of those tablets do I put in there?"

Me: What tablets?

Alex: The ones for the dishwasher? 

Me:  Why would you put dishwasher tablets in the washing machine?

Alex:  I don't know. They are right there in the laundry room. 

Me:  that's because the box was too big to fit under the sink. The extras are in the laundry room. 

This morning, while feeding the dogs, I looked at the washing machine and saw that the jar holding the dishwasher tablets was on top. The washer had a load inside that was probably started yesterday and smelled like wet dog. 

I decided to run the load through again. 

I went upstairs and told both boys that dishwasher tabs are for the dishwasher. 

Nick told me he put one in with the clothes. He said he couldn't find the laundry detergent. 

Oh.  No one brought the dishwasher tablets down to the basement. They got tired of hanging out under the kitchen sink and wanted to see how the rest of the world lives. Their first stop was the basement on top of the washing machine.

So, right before leaving for work, I wrote this:

Instructions on how to use the washing machine. (I didn't want to come home to a broken washing machine. 

I also labeled the laundry detergent

So much for fancy labels. I had to get to work and didn't have time to make a nice label. I will add that to my "To do" list. 

For now, lets just hope the washer and dryer (and I) survive.  

Cheerleading

Last game cheering for the Bills!

The Weird Neighbors

I think that could be said for all neighbors.  There's a book titled, "Everybody's normal till you get to know them."

It's true.  Think about it.

I don't really think any of my neighbors are weird.  Strange at times, maybe, but not all-out weird.

The title came from Nick.  He thinks one set of neighbors is weird.  I don't want to give an exact location in case any of my neighbors stumble upon my blog and find out that we think they are weird. (Do weird people know that they are weird?)

I don't agree with Nick.  These neighbors seem normal.  Of course, I only see them when they are outside.  Who knows what they do when I'm not around to supervise.  I mean, I can't be with them all of the time.  They can be doing weird things right now for all I know.

Hmm....

My neighbors are weird.

Sunflowers and Sunflower Seeds

We grew sunflowers in our garden this summer.

         I love sunflowers

I forgot how tall sunflowers get.  Taller than RT, if you can believe that...

The great thing about sunflowers is.....sunflower seeds!

I wasn't sure how to harvest them, so I checked out Wikihow and their step by step plan on how to harvest sunflower seeds.  

Once the flower starts to droop and the petals started to pull back from the flower, you know that they are ready to harvest.  You can harvest them on the stalks, just cover them so birds, squirrels and chipmunks don't get to them.  

We cut our flowers and let them dry in the kitchen hanging from some hooks.  (the chipmunks were feasting on them, so I decided they needed to come into the house)  I forgot to take a picture, so, you just have the one flower hanging. (you can see some of my peppers hanging in the picture, too)

When all the flowers were hanging, Nick said, "Why are those weeds in the house?"  Yea.  He thought they were weeds that we were growing and that we decided to just bring them in the house.  We're weird like that, I guess.  Oh, and we did tell them that they were sunflowers.  

Once the flowers are completely dry, it's time to harvest the seeds!  They should come right out of the flower easily.  It can be quite messy, so, put down a towel or maybe think about doing this step outside.  

The seeds come out pretty easily

Once picked, you can soak them in salt water or just bake them.  I soaked them in salted water and wish that I skipped that step.  They still turned out, but, I don't think it was necessary.   

Bake them for about 40 minutes at 300 degrees and they are ready to eat!

We have a large bowl full of sunflower seeds.   I think we are set for awhile in the sunflower seed department.

Nothing says sexy like someone cleaning up dog poop.

Which means, I must be pretty sexy since I'm always cleaning it up.

It's going to be a good day

I remembered to put on deodorant before work today.

Maybe I should play the lottery?

One Direction Concert

              Beautiful

Tickets to see One Direction in concert = free

Earplugs = $1

Parking =$49

Smile on my daughters face = priceless

Selfie before the concert starts

selfie after opening band (5 Seconds of Summer)

Nail Clippers

Alex came into the bathroom while I was polishing Bella's nails.  He asked if he could have the nail clippers.

Me:  You can borrow them, but, you have to give them back.  I can pick you up some nail clippers if you want your own.

Alex:  Really?  Can't I just have these?

Me:  No.

RT (from the other room):  That's a really sweet deal.  I would take it.  Mom wouldn't let me come near her nail clippers for 14 years.

Me:  And now it's only with supervision.

Alex:  Really?  Why?

Me:  (whispers)  Because he steals them!

Need a backstory on this one?  Check out this post.

Vegetarian Diaries - Eggplant Parmesan

Haven't done a Vegetarian Diaries post in quite some time.

I decided to plant eggplant in my garden this year.  It has taken off and has forced me to make dishes using eggplant.  I had RT barbecue  an eggplant for dinner one night (I sliced it up first). It was delicious.  I made my eggplant patties and eggplant Parmesan.I have been using my homemade spaghetti sauce (I have tons of tomatoes).  Nothing like a meal made with fresh ingredients from your garden!

I looked over many recipes for Eggplant Parmesan.  Many of the recipes called for breading the eggplant and frying it.  I wanted to try something a little different.  I decided to grill the eggplant (using the George Foreman grill).  I brushed the slices with oil (olive or sunflower) and grilled them.  Placed them in the bottom of a greased 9x13 dish, poured homemade spaghetti sauce and topped it off with some Parmesan cheese.  (I even went a little crazy and tossed some shredded mozzarella on it for kicks)

This has been my go to dinner.  It's quick and easy and, eggplant is quite nutritious.  I happened to look up the nutritional benefits of eggplant and was quite surprised.

Here's to Eggplant!  And, Eggplant Parmesan!

             Delicious!

I had to run some errands today.
Aren't you glad that I told you that....now you can get on with your day.
Seriously.
I was at a store and the woman behind me asked if she could put her loaf of bread on the counter because it was too heavy for her to carry.  (she was also talking in a really high voice)  I said no problem.  I let the cashier take her first.  She then starts telling me that she just had heart surgery.  I said you look good for just having surgery.  She continues telling me that she had surgery and has been in a coma for two months.  (I'm stunned at this)  She said that she is happy, though.  She has her license and she can drive around.

I checked out and peeled out of the parking lot before she reached her car.

Drying out jalapeños

We have an abundance of jalapeños. I have pickled them (yum!). Now I'm trying my hand at drying them out.

This is just the start of a long jalapeño chain.

I got the idea from Jalapeño Madness.  If you need more ideas on what to do with your large harvest of jalapeños, check out the website! 

As for me, I have quite a few peppers to string.

Pickle time!

I have picked so many cucumbers this last month. What to so with them? It finally hit me.  Pickles!  Need the recipe?  Go here

This should last awhile!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

As you know from this post, I make my own laundry detergent. I have been pretty happy with it.

I was having some problems a little while back with my washing machine, but I found if I just put the detergent in with the clothes, everything turned out great.

I was looking around the web at various homemade laundry detergents and found that I could make a larger batch.  A lot of people mentioned using Zote soap so I thought, why not try it?

I made the double batch and found that it lasts a lot longer.  I don't have to make the soap every couple of months.  This larger batch lasts anywhere from 4-6 months.

Here is the recipe for the larger batch.

Laundry Detergent (the Big Batch)

bars of soap (2 of Zote or 3 Fels Naptha)
1 box of Washing Soda (washing soda, not baking soda, you can find it in the laundry detergent aisle)
1 box Borax

Grate the bars of soap.  I use the food processor to grate the soap.  Once it is grated, I then run it through with the blade inside with a little borax and a little washing soda (so it doesn't stick to the processor and become clumpy or clay like).

Mix all together and put into your container(s).

This time I tried the white Zote soap.  I was not impressed with the scent.  I put in a little lavender essential oil.  The scent does not transfer to the clothes (very happy about that).  I'm hoping that this will keep the whites....white.  I thought maybe that the Fels Naptha might be the reason some of my whites are turning dingy.  We shall see...

I still put in a 1/2 cup of white vinegar for the rinse (or instead of using a fabric softener).  And, no, your clothes will NOT smell like vinegar.

Better get to work.  I have quite a few piles of laundry to do.

Walking

I thought I would give some updates on my walking travels.

I still walk everyday.  I roll out of bed at 6:30am, throw some clothes and shoes on and head out the door.  I try to get my walk in before RT goes to work.  (still trying to figure this one out now that the kids are back in school)

I still see sports bra lady.  You remember her, she's in her late 60's, wears a sports bra and too short shorts an walks her dog.  Today she didn't have the straps of her sports bra over her shoulders.  Not sure what was holding the bra up.  Don't think I want to know, either.

Then there's the guy who jogs with his small dog.  The dog has gotten better at the whole jogging thing.  When they first started out, the dog was dragged most of the way.  Now, the dog sometimes runs ahead of him.

Oh, and then there's the guy who has been jogging the trails for the last 17 years.  I'm not sure if this guy lives in the area or even goes home.  Anytime you are on the trails, you see him jogging.  I think he is the Forrest Gump of our area.  (except, no one has followed him in seventeen years)  He has changed his clothes a few times over the last seventeen years.  He started out in a long sleeve button down shirt and dress slacks.  He is now wearing long basketball shorts and a tee shirt.

There are quite a few people who jog in khakis and a golf shirt.  I'm not sure what that's all about.  Maybe trying to start a new jogging fashion trend.

There's the woman who always carries her purse with her when she's out walking.  You never know when you're going to need it.....I guess.

There is another woman with two small dogs.  She usually carries one of the dogs.  She has got to be the friendliest person on the trails.  Always has something to say and always happy.  Wishing you a wonderful day with a huge smile.

The other day I was having some fun with a jogger.  He was ahead of me, but, I think he was done jogging.  He was tired and wanted to just walk it out.  He saw that I was approaching and decided to run as fast as he could for about 10 seconds and then stopped.  He walked a little and turned to the side (not looking directly at me) to make sure that I was far behind him.  If he turned to the side and saw that I was approaching, he would run for another 10 seconds and repeat the process.  This happened two or three times.

I was amused (of course).

The fourth and fifth times I decided to run with him (and stopped when he stopped).  When he turned to the side to see how far ahead he was, he realized I was right behind him and started running again.  He gave up after the third time and let me pass (I was bummed because I was having so much fun).  I think I wore the guy out, but, hey, he got an even better workout because of me!

I try to do my part and help others.

Fall back to school means when you clean your house, it stays clean. 

..........Until the kids get home

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Most people think that's Christmas. The rest of us think of it as Back to School. 

Today is the big day. First day. 

First day, senior year

First day, freshman

First day third grade

I like to make sure my pictures are fun and entertaining. Look at the pictures and you can play "where's the dog?" 

Hears to a great day and a great school year!

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

It's official.

They got my hair. 

Thanks for the letter, Pantene. 

Hair

I have been having some issues with my hair. As you know from this post, I have been using castille soap (with a  little water) as my shampoo. Lately, well, since I got my hair chopped off, my hair has been falling out. I read up on hair falling out. Stress can be a factor (if that was the case, than it would have happened 6 months ago). Another reason I found was that some vegetarians don't get enough iron in their diet so they start losing their hair.  Even though I try to make sure I get enough iron, I added an iron supplement to my diet.  Nothing changed.

I read a little online about using Castile soap as shampoo and kept finding people had problems because of the high ph balance. The scalp doesn't like the shock of going from a ph balance of, say, 4, to a ph balance of 8 or 9. One of the things that can happen is Hair falling out.  So, there I am trying to figure out what's best to use for my hair.

I had to wash it today and used a cup of warm water mixed with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (acv). Acv has a low ph balance. 

I am working on what to do next. I have to decide soon. I'll keep you posted on my findings.  

What are your shampoo habits?  Are they causing you any problems?  

Clean your room

Bella cleaned her room.

Well, she does this on a regular basis.  Sometimes (well, most times) she starts cleaning, then starts playing, so the room looks neat in one small area, but the rest of the room looks like a bomb went off.

The other day, Bella wanted to show me her room.  It looked pretty good.  There were some questionable areas, but, for the most part it wasn't too bad.  She was quite proud of herself.

Today, I had to put something away in her closet.  I opened the doors and went to step in a little and stepped onto a pile of lots of little things.

I guess I found where all of her stuff went.  :)

If I ever decide to take the dogs for a walk while I am still in my pajamas, I hope someone stops me and either has me mentally evaluated or just locks me up.

Overheard at the dentist

"The dentist's gloves taste good.  No, really.  They taste like banana and blueberry."

Want a piece of Candy?

My kids LOVE candy.

Wait.

Alex and Bella LOVE candy.  Nick is just okay with it.  We'll leave him out of this one....for now.

Anyway...

When they get candy, they eat it all right away.  They try to save it, but, it doesn't last very long.
They both love to hide the candy in their room so no one steals it from them.  I usually find quite a few candy wrappers in their room.  Very rarely will they share their candy with anyone.  If they were going to share their candy, I would like to think that they would share it with me.

Today, Bella handed me an opened box of Sno-Caps.  She got these on one of her movie outings with her grandmother.  She didn't finish them at the theater, so she brought them home.  I had mentioned (the day she got them) that I loved Sno-Caps when I was her age.  It was my favorite movie candy.  I asked for some and was given one.  Yes, you read that correctly.  One (1) tiny little Sno-Cap.   I know she has a HUGE sweet tooth, so, I figured I would just let her be.

A day or two later, said Sno-Caps were "cap"-sized on her bed.  (in other words, spilled all over her bed) I figured she would eat them when she got back to her room or just throw them out.

Fast forward a few weeks.  Here I am, minding my own business and Bella hands me the box of Sno-Caps and tells me that I can have them.  I politely decline (remember they were all over her bed?).  Bella insists that I take them because I mentioned that I used to like them.  I casually mention the fact that they have been sitting around for about a month.  (she denies the length of time but can not give a definite date as to their purchase) I asked about their little accident all over the bed.  (apparently that didn't happen to these Sno-Caps)  I then say Thank You and that I don't have a taste for Sno-Caps.

She stomps off, saying that I am mean.

Well, I guess I should be happy that she was willing to share.

(a little too willing, if you ask me)

Someone put an empty container of hummus in the refrigerator. I'm not sure if I should be upset about this or just be happy that they all like to eat hummus. 

Perfect hair

I tried for years to achieve the perfect hair.  I knew the cut I wanted and how it would lay.  I had pictures that I would bring with me to the stylist.  My cuts would come close, but never exactly how I wanted my hair.

I looked at Bella today and realized she has my perfect hair cut that I wanted 10 years ago.  She doesn't have to put much effort at all into it and it looks great!

Since I cut off all of my hair, my perfect hair days have gone away.  I hope I don't have to wait much longer for perfect hair.  I think I have waited long enough.

Me:  Make sure you brush your teeth.
Alex:  Why do I have to brush my teeth for registration?
Me:  I don't want to smell dragon breath

*dragon breath = really, really bad, hot, smelly breath

Freshman Registration

I now have two kids in high school.

Scary.

Today I went with Alex to register for high school.  It was a first for me since RT took Nick when he was a freshman.  After freshman year, the kids don't want to be seen with their parent(s) so they go to registration alone or with a friend.

There are so many fun things going on at school:  plays, sports, billions of clubs, dances, etc.  Almost makes me want to go back to school.  (I said "almost.")

School starts in two weeks (yikes!).  Gotta try to enjoy every last minute of summer while we can!

Shower Cleaner

Found this easy shower cleaner HERE. Thought I would give it a try on my gross showers. If its easy and can clean my shower, than I'm all for it.

Here's the recipe:

Homemade Shower Cleaner

6oz white vinegar 

6oz blue Dawn dish detergent 

Spray bottle 

Mix together in spray bottle. Spray on dirty shower. Wait 30 minutes. Wipe and rinse. 

It's that easy!

A few notes:

Make sure area is well ventilated. Turn on the fan and open the windows. The smell can be pretty strong. 

You can make larger batches. This will cover one shower plus some left over.  If your spray bottle is bigger, double the amount.  Just remember it's a one to one ratio. 

Well, I'm off to go state at my clean shower. 

Let me know if you try it!  I would love to hear how it works for you!

More Jalapeño's, please

The garden is going crazy.  I just picked quite a few jalapeño peppers and decided to pickle them.  (you can view the recipe from my previous post by clicking HERE)

Let's see how long these last....

My Shopping Sidekick

I've mentioned in the past that Bella is my sidekick.  She goes with me just about everywhere.
We had to run some errands today and she came downstairs all ready to go.

my beautiful, pink sidekick 

Love it!

My essay...continued

I didn't mean to leave you hanging there.
I wrote that letter five months ago because I was so frustrated with AT&T and how they handled the phone problem we were having.
The problem was never solved.
So, yea, I have been paying for phone service for a phone that does not work.  AT&T doesn't care.  It's not their child out there in the world without a phone.  They are getting their money and that's all that matters to them.
AT&T's solution was for me to purchase a new phone from them, including a new phone line/service plan, and continue paying for the other line.
When I had the problem with Alex's phone, I found someone who told me to purchase a go phone and have them connect it to the same line.  I tried doing that yesterday on the AT&T website.  Nick picked out a phone and I was trying to purchase it.  The only problem was, they wouldn't let me purchase unless I purchased a phone plan to go with it.  I chatted with a rep online trying to figure this one out.  I was told I could remove it from the cart at checkout.  When I got a little further in the checkout process I had to select a phone number/area code for the phone and the phone plan was still attached (even though I removed it).  I was assured that I wouldn't have a problem once I switched the phone over to my line.
Knowing the past luck that I have had with AT&T, I decided to give them a call to be assured that I would be able to switch this out and that I wouldn't be stuck paying another monthly bill.  The representative told me that the phone I was purchasing was an upgrade from what was currently being used (I didn't know that a Radiant phone (the phone we were purchasing) was better than a Samsung Galaxy III (the phone we had) and that they wouldn't be able to do the switch.  Oh, and there wasn't a guarantee that the monthly fee would be wiped away.
Armed with that information, I decided to empty my cart and purchased the phone from another source.  The phone should be arriving in a few days.  I will then be able to transfer the phone number and I will be able to get in touch with my son and he will be able to call for help, in case of an emergency.
Well, that's the plan.
(to be continued)

 

An essay to AT&T

I had to change the title because of some crabbing overheard on Twitter. 

I changed it. 

Thank you and you're welcome. 

Ok. Continue. 

I wrote this several months ago and am still having problems with Nick's phone.  I thought I would share my frustrations with AT&T cell service.

To Whom it may concern,

I have been an AT&T customer (home and/or wireless) for many years (I think we are talking more than 20).

Recently I have run into a problem with a wireless Samsung Galaxy III phone. The phone was having problems turning on. I thought that it was possibly the charger and tried a different charger. When that didn't work, I switched out the battery. The problem was still there. I contacted AT&T and was delighted when I was told that they could switch out the phone because it was still under the one year warranty. (Now, why they only have a one year warranty when they force you to sign a two year contract is, well, it's ridiculous and, obviously another topic for another day) 
AT&T did tell me that this exchange phone is under a short warranty (it was either 14 days or 30 days). I wasn't worried. The phone should last the length of the contract, right?

Anyway....

I received the new phone, sent my old phone back in. I was quite excited that the phone was actually working.

Sixty days into using this "new" phone, I encountered the same problem. Black screen. Phone not charging. Can not make or receive phone calls or texts. I contacted AT&T about this problem and am told that the phone is not under warranty. They suggested getting another phone and new phone line (as if I am made out of money and can just keep paying for additional lines for years and years because the phones I am issued don't work). I did contact one employee at an AT&T store that suggested getting a "Go-Phone." That's where you buy a phone and they sync it to your line.

I thought I would make one last attempt at trying to figure out a solution with AT&T. I was told that they would let me upgrade to a new phone (the contract is up this coming November). They would give me the free phone, but, I would have to add an additional $45 to my cell phone bill (the one that I was just trying to reduce) and sign up for another two year contract. I don't understand why I have to buy another phone. The one they sent to me should work, right? Why would I accept a phone from AT&T when the last phone they sent me worked for only 30 days?

I have been paying for the use of a phone that I have been unable to use for two months now. Trying to get a hold of my son (who is the actual user of this phone is quite difficult). Oh, did I mention that he is a teenager? So when he goes somewhere with friends, I can't get a hold of him. And, what happens if an emergency occurs? Call 911? With what? His phone, the replacement phone that AT&T sent (the one I am paying for) does not work.

I am thoroughly disappointed. I have a product and service that I have paid for and am unable to use it.

Your solution? To sell me another product that probably won't work, put me in another 2 year contract and raise my bill.

I guess I wanted to let you know about my dissatisfaction and share with others about my experience with your company's wireless services Oh, and wait for my contracts to end and find another service provider (I think there might be a few out there to choose from).

Thanks for listening everyone.