It Finally Happened!!!

Today is a red letter day, a day that will go down in the history books, a day that I will look back at with fond esteem. It is the day I beat James at chess! 

Don’t get me wrong, I have beaten him in chess before, but it wasn’t the same. Before, when I would win, I captured all his guys and I just had to pin down his king—which I ALWAYS need help with. Tonight was monumental because not only did I put him in checkmate but I completely caught him of guard. I said “checkmate” and his response was “no, wait, it’s not checkmate; I can get out of it.” And yet he couldn’t! James is now saying that he will not play chess with me ever again—I doubt that. Anyway, for 6 years I have been losing at chess and still playing. I guess it’s because “I is now a college student.” 

Canning: a new found passion!

I know that I am new to the game, but I absolutely love canning. I use to think it was old-fashioned and pointless--why can something when you can buy it? With our extremely large garden we have found ourselves not eating our tomatoes fast enough. So I made salsa, Yum!!! I would say that I made up a really fancy salsa, but really it is just the recipe in the Better Home and Garden Cookbook.  I love a good cookbook, especially one that makes me look good! Not only did I make salsa but I made some more crab apple jelly, as if I didn't already have enough.  So now I am looking to tackle something else, maybe I will can butternut squash soup. Who knows? Any pointers?

I feel the need, the need for Clean

It seems that when my house is messy my life seems more chaotic than it needs to be. The other day Lucy dumped out the itty bitty rubber bands for hair, and when I say dumped out I mean they were EVERYWHERE in our family room. I didn’t clean the room up right away because the rubber bands were mixed with toys dirty socks, pillows, blankets and snack rubbish. You know all those things that end up in the TV room. So today I finally cleaned the room. It is like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I have had a really stressful and crappy weekend and if I would of just cleaned up I think I would have felt tons better. I hope I can remember this for the next time I am stressing out. Do you stress out when your house is messy? Or am I just ranting?

It's a Crop Party

So the picture isn't fabulous but I got it done. So On October 3rd I will not be blogging, but scrapbooking my heart out. Hope to see you there! 

Popcorn Balls

I just made the yummiest Halloween treat. I know that Halloween is a month and an half away but I got a craving. Theses popcorn balls are the perfect balance of sweet and salty plus they are super easy to make. Try them out, it's good. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag of microwave popcorn Some candy corn and peanuts

6 tablespoons butter 5 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
2.	Pop the popcorn in the microwave. Put popcorn in prepared pan. Add some candy corn and peanuts.
3.	Melt butter In a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in marshmallows and cook until melted, stirring constantly. Pour marshmallow mixture over popcorn and mix with spoon to coat evenly.
4.	Let mixture cool slightly. Smear butter on your hands or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Mix popcorn with your hands so that it is evenly coated.
5.	Form popcorn into 8-12 balls.

 

I’m very Self Reliant!

We got a GINORMAS crabapple crop this year. Last year the blossoms froze so we didn’t get any apples. But this year, look out! 

Lucy loved picking the apples!

We filled our five gallon bucket and only found three worms. 

I made six quarts of crab apple jelly.

 The picture doesn't do the color justice. It's a deep red but in the light it almost has an orange color to it, it's really pretty! I changed the recipe a bit, it’s more like spiced apple jelly.  The jelly tastes like Christmas- if Christmas has a flavor. The last time I made it I gave away most of it. Big mistake! So if you want to come over for homemade bread and jelly just give me a call.

Ingredients:

Fresh crabapples

Water

White Sugar

Cinnamon stick or Spice Sachet

1.    1.  Remove leaves and blossom ends from crabapples and rinse well. If you soak them in water the worms float right to the top. Place them in a large stainless steel or other non-reactive pot or saucepan. Add enough water to be able to see, but no so much that the crabapples are floating. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. The apples should soften and change color. I like to boil them in an old pillowcase, because it will save you time later.

2.    2.  Strain the apples and juice through 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth. Do not press. Discard pulp.

3.   3.   Pour one cup of juice to every one cup of sugar back into the pan. Bring to a simmer, and watch carefully because it could boil over. It happened TWICE to me. Skim off any foam that comes to the top. Add cinnamon stick or sachet. Continue cooking at a low boil until the temperature reaches 220 to 222 degrees F (108 to 110 C). Remove from heat.

4.    4.  Pour the jelly into sterile small decorative jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process the jars in a hot water bath to seal.

For the Spice Sachet: I sewed a little pocket with some fabric scraps. I then put in about 1-2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, some ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and some pumpkin spice. (Basically whatever I could find in my spice cabinet.) I sewed up the pocket, making sure that the stitch was really tight. 

Practice makes perfect!

This is my attempt at a “chain link fence.” Lucy’s hair is too fine to do it so I did Thomas’ friend, Malia’s hair. I am still a work in progress.

Problem Solved!

I have solved the crab problem. He no longer tries to get out of the fish tank, ‘cause he died. I am starting a foundation for the research of sudden fish death syndrome. All across the world, fish keepers struggle with the loss of fish and crustaceans for no apparent reason. With my new foundation, people can know why that 28 cent fish never stood a chance against a 4 year-olds feeding schedule. To contribute to my fishing foundation, contact your local bank and tell them you would like to donate to the Personal Fisheries of America Foundation, and then tell me what they do. 

Slippery When Wet!

All this summer we really tried to be outside. I made it a goal that at least twice a week we would fill the pool up or walk down to the city pool. As a result we found that Lucy is a little fish, fearless when it comes to water and Thomas has yet to get a sun burn. Thomas was really funny, he didn't like being in the pool too much. He was really happy if he could just ride his bike all afternoon, with out the sprinklers on. I think these times really helped me keep my sanity in check. I made sure to take pictures at least once before the weather started to turn. Enjoy!

Crop Night Party!

I am in the process of planing a crop. A Crop is where we get together and scrapbook, eat, and get more ideas for our scrapbooks. I was thinking of having six crops in a year, every two months. I want to do it on Fridays from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight. The first party would be October 3rd. I feel that to really make it worth the time we need to take the time. I was thinking that we have a table for each scraper or two to a round table. Also, if everyone brings a snack to share it won't make the time seem so long. At six when it starts there will be a short (20-30 minutes) instruction session about new techniques and then the rest of the night you can crop, scrapbook, look at books and magazines for ideas, work on any other project you are working on (sewing, cross-stitch, or homework) or you can just eat and visit. Talking and scrap-booking go hand in hand. So what do you think? Are you game? Any ideas? Should I have an R.S.V.P. to make set up easier? I need lots of input because I don't want to plan this thing and then end up being the only one who shows up.

I have a happy librarian!

Do you want to know how to make a librarian happy? (Or really anyone who likes to read.) James has a new favorite author, Bernard Cornwell. Well, for a very belated Valentine's Day present I sent the 5 books that James owns, and Mr. Cornwell signed them for free. All I did was pay the postage, it was really easy. So if a loved one has a book or author that they like, see if you can get them signed, it's not hard. You just have to make sure that the author is still alive, that is kind of essential.

Are you My Mother?

I am a little worried about this and would appreciate some input. Thomas has an imaginary friend, well not really a friend. He has an imaginary Mom. Her name is Memo and she lives in a yellow house very far away. Memo tucks Thomas into bed every night. I tell you what, if I ever catch Memo I am going to kick her trash. Both James and I tuck both the kids in every night, unless one of us is out (which is rare). Why would my son imagine another mother to tuck him in at night? I know kids are imaginative, and I am fine with that. But he could have imagined a pet, a friend, even a new dad. I am the one who gave him life, cleaned up diarrhea, caught throw up in my hands and rocked him when he cried. I don't deserve to be replaced, no fair. And to top it off, when Lucy wants something she always calls for James, 'cause he generally caves. What are my kids thinking? Am I really that hard nosed? "I'm cool, I'm hip!"

Crab Quandry

I don't know what to do. I set up my fish tank again. This time I am trying something new, cold water fish. You know like koi and goldfish. Well, I also put in a fiddler crab. I have had those in my fish tank before and they never gave me a problem, until now! I have one in there and I can't keep him in the fish tank. Someday I am going to be playing with the kids on the floor and I am going to get a painful pinch in the tush. Ouch! So what do I do now? He's not big enough for crabs legs. Any ideas?

Yoga Class

I love doing yoga, I love it so much that I even got my nieces (Dani and Anna) and nephew (Josh) to join me. I know it isn't the best picture but I thought it was pretty cute. Lucy even joined in on the action, but she was eating a cookie at the time.

I feel so Martha!

As if I am not already super busy, I have to go make more work for myself. A few weeks ago I bought a pillow for James. Well he tried the pillow on and off for a few days and decided it wasn’t working. Well, I had long since thrown away the packaging, labels, and receipt, oops. What do you do with a new pillow that no one wants and you can’t return? I turned it into a lounging pillow for our family room. I bought a yard of fabric and made a pillow case for it. Then I got a bit carried away with accent pillows and a new curtain. So what do you think? The pillows obviously won’t be on the floor, they go on my tan couch, and this was just for the picture.

Midnight Sun

I feel like such a nerd! When I first heard about the Twilight Saga, I thought, “I am so glad that I am not a slave to those silly books.” Well James, I blame you for all of this. James got the MP3 of Twilight and we listened to it on the way to Utah and Las Vegas. That was all it took. Now, not only did I devour the books but now I am hanging off of ever bit of drivel that Stephenie Meyer throws at me. I come to find out that she is writing Midnight Sun, a companion book to Twilight from Edward Cullen’s voice. I just spent the last hour reading the first 20 pages online. I am not sure if the book will be good enough to stand on its own, but I bet I will be out with the masses buying the book. GROAN!!! The funniest part of all of this is that I am hosting book group on Friday and the book is…The Twilight Series. To see Midnight Sun: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

School starts today!!!!

I am just going to warn everyone now, I am going to be a bit busy this week. I will try to keep up on my postings but school starts today. So I will be keeping my nose in lots of books. I am hoping that I can soon figure how to balance my schedule.

Harvest time, already?

We had quite a harvest today! This last month we would get a squash or two every so often and we would get tomatoes, if we could get them before the critters. But that was about the extent of our produce. We decided that we were tired of waiting for our carrots and what a surprise we found. We got about six carrots. I don’t know if it is the uranium mine that we live near or just our inexperience, but I have NEVER seen carrots quite like this. What do you think? We also harvested our first pumpkin, yippee! If you know of any good pumpkin recipes, let me know. I think I am going to try dinner in a pumpkin (anyone ever make that before?). I will try to post a picture of what I finally do with our mutant carrots. And just a side note, our peanut plant is doing surprisingly well. Does anyone know anything about peanut plants? We are just a little too new at this. Next year will be better but this gardening thing is still pretty fun!

Talk about a good job!

Well, I tried it again. For church this Sunday I did a lattice hairstyle. I feel very proud of myself. What do you think?

Steak Kabobs

My friend,Ashlee Hyer made this recipe for my family when I was in the hospital and James has been begging me to get the recipe from her. I got it and made it last night and it is so yummy we didn’t have any leftovers:( The best part of it was I had almost all of the ingredients already. So now I feel like I have to share it with everyone. Please try them out, they are out of this world. Enjoy!



Steak Kabobs
Marinate beef chunks for about an hour in:
¼ c. A1 sauce
1TB. Vegetable oil or sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tsp fresh)
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp sesame seeds
Pan fry the meat in the marinade until cooked then put meat on skewers with: green pepper, red pepper, onion, pineapple, mushrooms, and or mango. Place in oven at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Serve with rice and sauce.
Sauce:
¾ c. orange juice
¼ c. honey
the juice of one lime
1 Tb. Soy sauce
1 tsp garlic
½ tsp black pepper
Cook in a sauce pan until reduced. If you are impatient you can thicken it with a tablespoon of cornstarch.