Making Ice Cream at Work

A couple of weeks ago I was given the job to make ice cream with a group of kids.  I was quite excited.  I mean, who doesn't like ice cream, right?

The directions were taken from Pinterest and all of the supplies were provided.  This is one of those fun activities that we do during the month at work.  This one happened to fall on National Ice Cream Day.

I did get to try out the activity at home.  Bella helped me.  I do have to say that not all Pinterest finds are a success.  Unfortunately, it was decided to do the activity as is and not find another recipe that is easy and will work.

My first group arrived and I had one mom who was a trooper and helped out.  Getting her kids to work the bags so they can make their ice cream.  The other mom wasn't paying attention, and neither were her kids.  So, the one group had actual ice cream and the other group of kids didn't.  I'm sure you can figure out how this all happened.

The next group that came in was great.  Luckily one girl made ice cream at the library with a similar recipe so, she was my star pupil.   Since my excitement about this whole task fizzled after the first group (the kids that didn't listen), my I put my star pupil to work.  The ice cream came out ok for this group.

Again.  Rethinking the whole job thing.

Vegan Diaries - Kale Chips

I have both my gardens up and running this year.  They are definitely doing a lot better than last year.

This year I planted Kale and Okra (from seed).  The okra is just starting to produce little okras.  The kale?

wow.

I think I have six plants and they are going crazy!  I add kale to just about everything I make for every meal.  Kale and eggs, kale salad or in a sandwich, in a stir fry or soup or even smoothies.

So much kale.  In fact, RT is waiting for me to make kale toothpaste and kale underwear.

If I develop the kale underwear, I'll let you know.

The other night I thought I would try my hand at Kale Chips.  I didn't realize how easy they are to make and how fun and delicious they are to eat.  I stored the rest in a container so we could nibble on them anytime we felt our kale levels getting low.  And, yes, there were leftovers.  I made tons!

Here's my easy recipe:

Kale Chips

ingredients:
kale
olive oil
salt

directions: 
chop kale into smaller pieces.

Massage some olive oil onto the kale.
Place kale pieces on a cookie sheet.
Put in oven for 15-20 minutes.
Flip, if you can half way through cooking.


I wasn't able to flip half way through  I don't have the curly kale.  It's more of an extremely long kale leaf.


If you have any variations on making kale chips, let me know in the comments!  I would love to hear them and possibly try them out!


P.S.  Pippen enjoys kale chips. I told you he was weird.


Enjoy!

Day 5 of the Sink Hostage Situation

I'm reporting live from the kitchen amid this serious sink hostage situation.

Currently, due to the seriousness of the situation, no one is able to use the sink.  We are awaiting the professionals to come in and get a handle on the problem and solve this major crisis.

In the meantime, reinforcements have been brought in, in the form of paper plates and the use of one (1) plastic cup per person.

All are hoping this problem is solved in a timely manner.

Stay tuned.....

Dance Moms

Have you seen the show, "Dance Moms?"  It's where the child is a competitive dancer and the mom is on the sidelines, making sure the child is dressed, with makeup, etc.  And, the mom sometimes gets into it with the other dance moms.

Don't worry.  I haven't seen the show either.  I bring this up because Bella likes to dance and we just signed her up for competitive dance.  She's only going to compete with one dance (not 10).  We are getting into this very slowly.

So, I guess this makes me a dance mom.

It's going to be hard picturing me being mean to other moms, ready to start fights out in the parking lot at nice hotels.

Yea.  It won't happen.  But, it's fun to think about, though....

Matchy Couple Take 2

The other day I posted about couples that go out in public and wear similar clothes and colors.  I thought I would mention that twice this last weekend, RT and I wore matching clothes.  I have a fear that we might become one of those matchy couples.  

Pray for us.

Out of Order

I'm hanging up the "Out of Order" sign.

I found a large amount of water under the sink this morning.  As I was swearing at the kids cleaning up the water and emptying the cabinet out, RT found a hole in a drain pipe under the sink.   (the swearing at the kids thing really did happen)

I had to work and didn't think anything about it until I returned home to a HUGE pile of dishes in the sink.  I put some in the dishwasher and started hand washing the others until I realized that the hole was a bigger problem than I thought it was, and then decided that I should use our dish washing container in the basement utility sink.  This turned into realizing that the dish washer drains into the same pipe as the sink, and, well, guess who has A LOT more dishes to wash?

Of course I'm not getting much help from the rest of the family (why change now?), so, if you need me, I'll be doing some dishes until the pipe gets fixed.

Matchy Couple

I'm sure you have seen those elderly couples walking together and they are wearing either the same colors or the exact same clothes.  I often see a couple like this when I'm on my morning walk.  You can find these couples at festivals or parades, too.

I always tell RT that I'm not sure if I want to end up as one of those match couples.

The scary thing is when RT and I do go somewhere together, we end up wearing similar color combinations in clothes.  Unplanned of course.  Most times one of us will change.

How do you feel about matching with your spouse or significant other?  Would you do it?

Vegan Diaries - Chia Pudding

Still doing a version of the Vegan thing over here.  I avoid dairy as much as possible and feel pretty good.

A friend suggested that I try Chia pudding.  I found a recipe and gave it a try.  I was a little skeptical.  I don't know what it is about chia seeds.  Sometimes they weird me out.  I'm growing to like them.  They don't have any distinct flavor.  And, as I found out, they make a great pudding.  I haven't started to add them to everything.  That might take some time.  For now, they make a great pudding.

Here's the recipe:


Chia Pudding

ingredients:
2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup chia seeds
2 Tbsp Maple syrup*
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

directions:
Whisk almond milk, chia seeds, maple syrup and vanilla in bowl.
Let sit for 15 minutes.
Whisk again to break up clumps.
Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.


*I used agave, and I didn't use that much

*Serve with fruit and granola.  Makes a great breakfast or even dessert.

I made half of this recipe and had half (half of the half) for breakfast the next morning.

You could probably add cinnamon or even cocoa powder for a different flavor.


If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Blog Post Ideas and Titles

I keep a list of ideas and sometimes possible titles for future blog posts.  Sometimes they are pretty easy to figure out and I have no problem writing a post.  And, other times, I look at the title and have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote it down.

For example, "Hot and Sweaty."  What was I thinking when I wrote that one down?  The temperature outside?  Was someone else hot and sweaty?  Maybe I was going to make salsa that will make you hot and sweaty?  I do think I figured that one out, though, because I have a post with that title.

There is also a title, "Move the car."  That's really helpful!  Maybe I can give you details on how I have to move a car whenever I need to go somewhere.  I've already told you about the gas levels in Nick's car, so I couldn't talk about that in this post.  Maybe I could talk about how I have to add on extra time to my morning routine because of the extra time needed to move a car.

I'm determined to write my ideas down with a lot more details.  I mean, obviously something struck me as interesting or funny and I definitely don't want you to miss out on all of the fun I'm having while I make my way through my scary life.

Yes, Ma'am

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen.  It has finally happened.

A customer at work came up to me and said, "Excuse me, Ma'am?"

Now, I was facing the other way.  Like that makes a big difference.  Maybe my back looks older than my front?

Anyway you look at it, it's' still depressing.

I'll be curled up under a blanket for the rest of the day.

Laundry Basket

After 24 years of dedicated service, we are saying good bye to Larry the Laundry Basket.

Larry wasn't your typical, everyday normal laundry basket.  Larry was a round, plastic tub (probably used for drinks for a party, just add ice).  He was large enough, though, and held a good deal of laundry.

How many people can say that their laundry basket lasted 24 years?  Not many, I'm sure.

Larry gave his all every single day.  Hauling both dirty and clean clothes up and down the stairs.  He never did take the day off.  Always hard at work.  Even if there wasn't any laundry to do, he was planning a strategy for that next load.

Larry started out with small loads.  He proved his worth and was given the challenge with wet and spit up stained clothes.  He was on track and it lead to lots of dirt and grass stains.  Larry stood strong.  When he was challenged with glittery, sequins....he just kept going.  He was always up for a challenge.

Our hats, and our dirty clothes, are off to you, Larry.

May you rest in peace.

Got Gas?

I know I've written a post about this before, but, I guess I'm writing another because this always seems to happen to me.

Apparently, my family is afraid to go to the gas station and fill up a car (their car, my car, any car!).  Once again, "someone" let me use their car and I had to fill it up before going anywhere.

This morning, as I was heading off to work, I realized I better head to the gas station first or I will not make it to work (or home).

Good thing I'm on the frequent buyer's program at the local gas station.

Dumpster Diving at Work

You know you've hit a new all time low when you find yourself dumpster diving at work.

Yes.  That was me.  Last week.  It wasn't for fun stuff, either.  It was for boxes that another employee threw away that we needed so we could put merchandise back in so it could be easily stored.

Once I retrieved all necessary boxes, I decided that I need to rethink my whole job life.

Stay tuned.

Garbage Day

Garbage Day always seems to be a big day at our house.  Running around trying to make sure all garbage and recycling is out by the street.

I usually keep track of when the trucks come by to pick up.  The garbage was on a really early pick up (7:15 AM) and recycling was in the late afternoon.  It's just recently switched, with recycling being picked up in the morning and garbage in the afternoon.

On pick up day, before we are having company (a party) I like to make sure all garbage and recycling gets out.  I'm usually after my kids to make sure they get their stuff out there.  My children have a tendency to clean out their rooms and unearth enormous amounts of garbage and recycling the day before we have people over.

I have an "interesting relationship" with the garbage men.  They all are great, I have no complaints.  I think it started many years ago when we were tossing out the blinds from the kitchen.   We didn't have a sticker and they didn't fit into the can.  The garbage men came by and didn't take them.  I happened to be outside when they were two houses down.  I whistled and the truck backed up.  I sweet talked them a little and they took the blinds.

Years later, we had a can out by the curb full of dirt.  The guy said he couldn't lift it (this was obviously before they had the mechanical arms that grab the can and empty it).  I told him I was the one who carried it to the curb (and I really was the one who carried it!).  I think he was embarrassed.  He grabbed the can and emptied it.

Recently, we painted our house and had some boards replaced.  I fit most of the boards into our garbage can and even filled the neighbor's can.  We had some real long boards that didn't fit in a can and I didn't have a sticker for them.  So, I figured I would help the garbage man throw them in the truck.  I had my work gloves by the door.  All of the windows were open in the house so I could hear the garbage truck approaching.  Every time I heard a noise I sprang into action, grabbing my gloves and flying out the front door.  After about 6 hours of exercise this, the garbage man finally arrived.  He wasn't about to take them but I said I would toss them in.  He caved and said he would do it.

Our village just switched waste haulers.  I'm hoping they are as user friendly as the last bunch.