Mad Hatter

Bella decided to be the Mad Hatter for Halloween.  We picked up some funky duds from the thrift store.  When it came down to the hat, I thought about buying one at the store (until I realized it was $25, yikes!).

Bought a felt hat, bunny ear set (from the Dollar Store) and had the material.  With a little hot glue and some imagination.....

I'll try to get a picture of the entire costume.  Unfortunately, I won't be home when she starts trick or treating.  I'll get it....eventually.....

Special Bread

Whenever we have a special meal for a birthday, holiday, special occasion, I pick up a loaf of bread.

I should probably have started out this post with how much my family loves bread.  How I could purchase a loaf of french bread and my kids could devour it with in 12 hours.

They descend from a long line of bread lovers.  My grandfather could make a meal out of bread and cheese.  My Dad could do the same.  Growing up, I don't think we ever ate a meal without bread.

My children have become bread snobs.  They know good bread when they see it.  If there's good bread around, guarantee it won't last very long.  Currently, they prefer a sour dough bread and a healthy multi grain bread.  These are made at a local bakery.

I decided to make a special dinner for Nick's girlfriend.  I picked up a loaf of garlic bread (almost like the everything bagel, but on top of a loaf of bread).  All three of the kids noticed the bread when they got home and asked about it.

During dinner, they said we should have special dinners more often so they could get good bread.  I said, "Yeah.  All of a sudden we will be celebrating (Nick's girlfriends') birthday every week."

Long Distance Calling

RT had to make a phone call one morning for work.  He starts to punch in the number in his phone.  He stops and yells, "Where is "646" area code?"  I quickly look it up and reply, "New York."

RT:  Are we able to call that number?

I gave him an odd look.

RT:  I mean, do we have long distance?

I gave him another strange look.

Me:  We don't have the ability to call outside of the country but, we can call within the US.

He was on his cell phone.  Most cell phone plans have unlimited minutes within the US.

I finally said, "You are now leaving the 1990's.  We welcome you to the wonderful 2000's."

I think he realized what he was asking.  He then said, "Wow.  That's something my Dad would have asked."

The young  

cool  

hipster  

My husband.

Easy Halloween Costumes

I thought I would share my two easy Halloween costumes I made this year.  

Blow a Kiss Emoji

Yellow t-shirt
black and red felt
paper
pencil
scissors
fabric glue

This first costume was for work.  We were having a Halloween party at work and we all had to dress as an emoji.  I chose the Blow a Kiss emoji.  I drew out the emoji on paper first (you know me and my templates!).

Pumpkin Pie

orange t-shirt
black felt
paper
pencil
scissors
fabric glue
head band
plastic pumpkin

The second costume is to wear to work on Halloween.  Yea, I have to work Halloween (only during the day).  I thought this would be a fun and easy costume to make and wear.  Trace the Greek letter Pi onto black felt.  (That's the Pie)  Once the Pi is on your shirt, you can attach the pumpkin to your headband.  Get it?  Pumpkin Pie.  Great costume for math lovers.

Dance Recital Videos

Yea, I know.  I'm a little late in posting these Dance Recital Videos.  I've had the hardest time trying to upload them to Youtube.  Today, they finally uploaded, so, I went a little crazy and uploaded the last three years of dance recital videos.  Here they are!

2015

"Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift

 "Proud Mary" (sung by Glee).


Check out her dance moves!



Here is 2016

Grease

Red Balloon


Here is 2017

Ballet:
True Colors

Don't Stop Believin'

Jazz/Hip Hop

Still I Rise

(the video for Rhythm Nation was too blurry to put up..sorry)



I love how she sings along with the songs!

Vegan Diaries - Cajun Tofu, Sweet Potato Cilantro Rice Bowl

Made this Cajun Tofu Rice Bowl based on my delicious dining experience at Veggie Fest.  You could add cheese to the meal and make it Vegetarian.  


Here's the recipe:


Cajun Tofu, Sweet Potato Rice Bowl

ingredients:
12oz firm tofu
Cajun seasoning
olive oil

1 cup basmati rice (I used whole grain)
cilantro, chopped
1 TBSP lime juice
1/2 cup green beans (optional)*

1-2 Sweet Potatoes, chopped
garlic
olive oil

Extra ingredients chopped for your bowl:
sweet peppers
onion
tomato
avocado
cucumber
greens (spinach or lettuce?)


directions:

Oven to 350F

Place tofu in paper towel and gently squeeze a little to get off excess water then cut into 1/4" slices.

Mix Cajun seasoning with olive oil and lime juice and rub onto the tofu.  Let set for 30 minutes.

Bake seasoned tofu for 30 minutes.  

While the tofu is baking, make the cilantro rice.  Cook rice as directed, adding the lime juice and cilantro toward the end of cooking.  

While the rice is cooking, take chopped sweet potato and sauce in garlic and oil in pan.  

When rice and sweet potatoes are cooked, it's time to assemble your bowl!  I start out with the rice and build on that (sweet potatoes, tofu, chopped vegetables, etc.). 



*I had some green beans from the garden that I chopped up and threw in while the rice was cooking.  It was a great addition.

An Abundance of Pears

The sign said, "Free pears."

RT:  What can you make with pears?

Me:  Pear sauce?

We decided we would grab some on our way back home.

RT was the one who decided to hop out of the car and grab a bag of pears.  We get home and I realize that he took three bags.  I washed them and had them in a bowl on the counter.

Alex:  What's the deal with all of the pears?

Me:  That's what we will be eating this week.

I used half of the pears and made cinnamon pear sauce (similar to apple sauce).

We just finished the pear sauce and now the other half of the pears are ripe.  I'm scrambling to find something different to make with these pears.

Pear pie?

Pear soup?

Pear chili?*

*It's cooling off around here

My Life Timeline

Some people measure time with actual dates.

"That happened on July 27, 2015"

Some people measure time with history.

"I remember that it was around the same time as the Tylenol scare."

Some people measure time with politics.

"Bill Clinton was president when that happened."

And, then, there is me.. I measure time in relation to my children.

"We got our fence when Alex was born."

"The basement was finished when Bella turned one."

I think my time line is normal.  I remember events (good and bad) and associate them with how old my children were at the time (or what they were doing at that time).

RT is quite amused by my time line.  He always asks, "How do you remember that?"  Sometimes I don't know the year or the child's age, but remember the incident.  But, they always correspond to some event (our kitchen remodel, our roof, fence install, etc.)

What does your life timeline look like?

How do you measure time?

 by date?

politics?

number one hit songs?

Gee, Your Hair Smells

Remember that commercial back in the '70's?

"Gee, your hair smells terrific!"

That also happened to be the name of the shampoo.  I don't remember what the shampoo smelled like (terrific?) but I do remember how everyone seemed to compliment the person that used it.

I took the plunge and bought a new shampoo last week.  I felt like the brand I was currently using was not doing anything positive and it was time for a change.  I steer away from chemicals, after realizing that was the reason why my scalp would itch so much (same chemical in shower gels and I can't use those).  Anyway, I chose a shampoo with a lavender scent.  I washed my hair with the new shampoo.  All day I noticed how nice my hair felt.  Softer and more body.

RT comes home and I tell him about my new, exciting purchase.  He sticks his nose into my scalp and inhales and declares that my hair smells awful.  Bella starts laughing.  She walks over and smells my hair and says that it smells bad and starts laughing.

I'm thinking it's a joke.

 A little while later, RT approaches me and says that he is being honest.  He doesn't want me to walk around thinking my hair smells good, when everyone else is thinking the total opposite.

I grab the bottle and have him smell the shampoo.  I mean, some people are not lavender people.  He said, "If you stick your nose in there, that's what your hair smells like."  I said, "I don't think normal people are going to stick their nose into my scalp to smell my hair."

Oh, and Bella was going along with it because she thought it was a joke.

Just when you think my life's journey isn't scary....  Yes.  These are real conversations I have with my family.

If I happen to bump into you, go ahead and tell me that my hair smells terrific.

Passwords

No.  Not the game show.  The word that you use to get into your accounts.

Yes, we all have a billion accounts with a billion memorized passwords.  We are told not to use the same password for every account (does anyone do this?).  Don't use a real easy code, like 1234.  Don't use your name, date of birth, etc.  And, then we should change these passwords often (what??)  Half the time I can't even remember the User ID.  And then I have to remember a password?

I do have some really good passwords that I don't think RT could figure out.  Heck!  I can't even figure out half of them!

I've taken to writing them down in a notebook.  I'm now finding that it would be most helpful if the notebook had them in alphabetical order.

RT suggested putting them on my computer.  What if I forget my computer password?

Maybe having all these ID's and passwords are good for exercising our minds.  Or, maybe it has the opposite effect and makes us lose our minds quicker?

I imagine being kidnapped, having a gun held to my head and being told to type in my password.  I would probably ask, "How much time can you give me?"  and, "How many chances do I get?"

Why is it that I can spray some perfume on myself and I feel like the scent is immediately lost.  Then there is my daughter, who uses half a bottle of spray  sprays perfume on and the entire house smells wonderful?

Maybe it's my choice of spray?

Maybe I need to use half of the bottle?

Vegetarian Diaries - Vegan Brownies Dairy Free Option

I mentioned a week ago that we were looking for some dairy free options for desserts and, guess what I found!  Vegan Brownies!

Bella loves brownies and since she is the one with the dairy problems, I thought a brownie dessert recipe would be perfect to test.

There is a link for gobs of details and pictures for the recipe.  My family (the non-vegans) actually enjoyed these brownies.

Here's the recipe:


Vegan Brownies
recipe found here

ingredients:
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP melted coconut oil
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 flax eggs*
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips


directions:
Oven: 325F
Line 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside

In bowl, whisk almond butter, brown sugar, syrup and melted coconut oil until it resembles carmel.

Add cocoa powder and whisk until shiny and smooth.  Add in vanilla and salt.  Stir until mixed in.

Add flax eggs, whisking until it is well incorporated.  Whisk in flour.  You might have to switch to using a spatula at this point.  Mix until no flour clumps remain.

Add chocolate chips and pour into prepared baking dish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool for an hour.



*flax eggs:  2 TBSP ground flax = 6 TBSP water whisked together and set aside for 15 minutes

I used peanut butter instead of almond butter
I used half the sugar and I didn't use that much syrup (I'm not big on sugar)
I substituted white flour, because that's all I had on hand


If you make these Vegan Brownies, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

My Weird Dog

Didn't think I would have that many things to write about under this title, did you?

Went for an evening walk with Pippen.  He was his usual excited self.  We walked around a park and I noticed a person lying in the grass with their dog.  I was hoping the dog was on a leash.

But, alas, the dog was not on a leash and as we were walking by, the dog jumps up and runs toward us.  I pulled Pippen aside, point at the other dog and say, loudly, "No!"  The dog stops, looks at me, and then turns around and runs back to his owner.

So, yea.  I am now able to communicate in the dog world.

Move over, Cesar Millan!

Vegetarian Diaries - Dairy Free Options

So, I fell a little off the wagon after my two week Vegan Challenge.  I've pulled myself together and am back to cutting out as much dairy as possible.

A while back (a few months ago) we figured out that dairy has been giving Bella some bad stomach aches.  During the Vegan Challenge, she said that she felt really good without the dairy.  We are now looking for more dairy free recipes.  Especially sweet treats recipes.   Oh and something that is equivalent to ice cream.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Happy Fall!

Wow!  Time sure flies when you're having fun!

I thought I would put some links to some of the Fall/Halloween crafts that I've blogged about in the past.

Time to get your craft on and get ready for the fall season!

Halloween Crafts

Bat Pencil Cup
Extra Crafts - using construction paper, owls, witch, ghost, foam monsters
Mosaic Pumpkin - using paint chips
Mosaic Pumpkin - using construction paper
Owl - using construction paper
Pony Tail Craft - using ribbon
Pumpkin and Ghost - using Popsicle sticks
Pumpkin Magnet - using foam
Spider - using pipe cleaners
SPIDER
Spider (under $1 craft)
Witche's Hat