Finishing 2012 with a BANG! And lots of carbs.

Goodbye 2012!  It has been nice knowing you.  Hello 2013--I have a lot of big plans for us!


So for the last day of the year, I took the day off to spend with the kids and to be a little bit domestic.  We started off with a surprise for Daddy.  Since my hubby has been working like a fiend lately, I wanted to make him his all time favorite dessert, pineapple upside down cake. Super easy recipe--goes as follows:

EASY PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE RECIPE

Box of Yellow Cake (such as Duncan Hines)--Follow Instructions but use melted butter instead of oil, and use pineapple juice instead of water (use the juice from the can of sliced pineapple for the topping). Stir in 1/2 cup of shredded coconut.

Topping
Sliced Pineapple
Marachino Cherries
Shredded Coconut
Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Melted Butter

Mix cake batter according to intsructions on back of box, but use the above substitutions. Spray the bottom of a bundt cake pan with PAM and grease it a little more with melted butter. Place sliced pineapple along the bottom of the pan, then insert the cherries in the middle of the pineapple. Pour the rest of the melted butter on top of the pineapple, add the brown sugar and shredded coconut. Then evenly pour the cake batter on top. Bake according to the instructions on the back of the box. Once done, let the pan sit on a rack for about an hour. Then place a plate on top of the pan and invert the cake onto the plate.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

 BEST HOME MADE BREAD EVER

Next, the boys and I made some homemade bread and it turned out awesome. The recipe is very simple and I got it off of Pinterest, where I found it on the following blog:

http://simplysogood.blogspot.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html

Instead of using the cast iron dutch oven, I used my Pampered Chef Covered Ceramic Bakeware. It worked beautifully. I made a regular version and a garlic bread version--four cloves of crushed garlic. That's the one that you can see my boys devouring below. They LOVED it. I did too. Which means we have to do some extra exercise tomorrow to make up for the carb overload.

 THIRD ANNUAL PAJAMA RUN

A few days ago,  we took the kids on our third annual pajama run--this is where we put the kids to bed, but then about 20 minutes later we pull them out of bed, don't tell them where we are going, and have them meet up with our friends and their kids for late night surprise of donuts and card games, like UNO. We took over the joint. The kids had a blast and so did the parents. Of course we were zonked out the whole next day since it took forever for the kids to settle down and go to bed after all that sugar, but we're creating awesome memories!

 

NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

 

Also, last week I adopted a new kitty cat.  He was on the euthenasia list at the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter.  He had been an owner surrender along with his sister, but she got adopted on Christmas Day.  The volunteer there named Stephani told me that he is the sweetest cat ever and keeps getting passed over for kittens.  That just broke my heart.  His name is Scully.  I named him after the greatest sportscaster of all time, Dodger Announcer Vin Scully.  He's coming back for the 2013 season to do his 63rd year of broadcasting!!!  I LOVE UNCLE VIN.  And to pay homage to him, this is way to remind me on a daily basis of his greatness.  RESCUE ANIMALS make THE BEST PETS!!

 

 

 JUST FOR LAUGHS

One of my all time favorite shows is Parks and Recreation.  Ron Swanson is the greatest character on TV right now.  And I love this Grumpy Cat Meme that's been going around.  So do both my boys.  I just thought that this would make you laugh!! 

ON THE NEEDLES

 

And last but not least, this is the scarf that I am working on right now.  Super easy pattern for mindless knitting.  It is called the Broken Rib Pattern.  It is 4 Knit stitches, 4 Pearl stitches, 4 Rows.  Then Reverse. It is easy and an adorable vintage pattern.

 

 



 

 

GOAL for 2013--Making the switch to cruelty-free beauty and household cleaning products.

I've been a vegetarian for 2 years now.  I'm going cruelty free with my beauty and household products beginning in 2013.  So I've been consulting this blog for help with the switch to the makeup.  It is a great website and you would be surprised at how many drug store finds are on it.

 

http://www.mybeautybunny.com/cruelty-free-beauty/#CrueltyFreeDrugstore

It is the End of the World As We Know It, and I Feel Fine

Today is 12-22-2012.  The day after the world was supposed to end, according to the Mayans.  So I guess they must have miscalculated a bit.

Yesterday was also the first day of my kid's winter vacation.  Hmmm...what would be a nice way to kick it off?  How about spending an evening with a dear friend decorating cookies (otherwise known as destroying the kitchen with cookie dough and powdered surgar)?  That sounded like fun, and that's what  we did.  We took it to the limit.  The kids had access to some Star Wars and Star Trek cookie cutters, and with our friend Jan helping to guide them through the delicate process, their finished products were a success.   Well, sort of.  There were a lot of mis-shaped cookies that ended up finding their way into little bellies instead of on the decorating table.

Now I'm no Martha Stewart.  To be quite honest, we didn't make the dough from scratch.  We used the pre-made gingerbread dough logs (although when I have made homemade gingerbread from Jan's familiy recipe the cookies turned out amazing) but sometimes when a working mom has to take shortcuts, Pillsbury doesn't do that bad of a job helping out with that sort of thing.  They were actually quite yummy.

So about 5 hours later, my kitchen looked like this:

 

And here is an example of the finished products:

So for those of you who are not geeks, you can see examples of a Vulcan hand, a storm trouper helmet and the a star fleet insignia.  Yes, the boys were in heaven.  To top it off, they got to watch Big Bang Theory while they were making these little treasures.   You know the episode, "The Friendship Algorithm"?  Well, our friend Jan was wearing a shirt with that algorithm on it, and by coincidence that happened to be the same episode that was on.  It blew the kids' minds.

 

GINGERBREAD COOKIE LEMON GLAZE:  Jan shared with me a very very simple recipe for a lemon glaze for the gingerbread cookies that made them taste amazing.  Here it is:  Take a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and start with about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.  Then mix together until it looks like a creamy (not transluscent) glaze.  It should be more white than clear.  If you need to add a little more lemon juice that's fine, but my first attempt was very runny and it ended up making the cookies a bit soggy.  Anyway, I am sure you will find out what consistency works best--you can always add more sugar/or juice until it looks right.  And then just drizzle on the finished cookies.

My HUSBAND, THE FED EX COURIER:  Almost 17 years at the job, and this time of year is ALWAYS exhausting and the volume has been incredible heavy.  They did record breaking numbers this season.  So I don't see very much of him until after December 25.  Yesterday he posted a few pics of what his work load has been like.  Here they are (along with his Instagram captions):

"You know the scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

 

"It looks like the end of the world to me..."

So I Gotta run now.  The boys are awake.  Time for breakfast.   I have a feeling gingerbread cookies are on the menu this morning.  Hey, it is vacation. 

BABIES, BABIES EVERYWHERE!

So finally, one knitting pattern.  It is an adorable baby hat.  Putting it on the needles today with some super soft baby yarn that I have been dying to use.  Gotta a  number of babies being born lately in my group of friends and co-workers, and just this week my assistant confided in me that she is expected a baby in the fall.  So if I get started on this super quick project now, I should be done just in time.  Tee hee.

So here is the hat that is my go-to pattern.  Easy, makes and adorable hat, and is a nice portable project.  Just what I need.

http://majorknitter.typepad.com/major_knitter/files/basic_newborn_baby_hat.pdf

Hello there. Yeah, well it has been about four years since my last post. Let's try this again.

These two boys have been my priority. Our lives are rich and full, peppered with moments of anxiety and worry, just as any other parent raising two boys--ages 12 and 9, has to face. Recently there was a huge eye opener when a crazed gunman in Connecticut killed 20 kids and 6 teachers. It made me really think about my life and my priorities, And the time I've spent (or not spent) with my beautiful boys.

THESE BOYS ARE THE LOVES OF MY LIFE

Needless to say, having this very full and busy life has left me with very little downtime. And my knitting has been neglected. I have beautiful yarn, lots of patterns, and it is just sitting there taunting me. So my goal is to include one small project on the needles at all times, which is actually very therapeutic and helps calm my fidgeting hands.

I still scrapbook, read like a fiend, and Facebook and Instagram on a daily basis. So it feels as though I am already blogging of sorts. But I can express my deeper and more private thoughts here on this blog, maybe hoping to reach another mother like me with words of encouragement, so she knows she is not alone.

I have a friend who recently began blogging and shared her wonderful blog with me. She has had quite a journey and I thought I knew her well but after reading her page, I can see that I have only scratched the surface. She is facing challenges with getting pregnant, a new marriage, balancing work and taking care of herself. All things that I would consider to be private. And blogging is helping her.

I want to support her and her blog as well. If she lets me share it I will in a later post but gotta check with her first! However, she deserves credit for inspiring me today to pick this back up.

But I am a different person than I was 4 years ago when i started this page. I am 38 years old this year and have been a vegetarian since 2010. I run a successful home-based business and work full time. I volunteer and conduct free Bible studies and work extra hours for animal shelters and dog rescues. I do my own bookkeeping. AND laundry. Loads and loads of laundry. I love to cook and bake and come up with yummy recipes to feed my family. My favorite so far has been amazing home made bread baked in my ceramic clay covered pot. And I make the best pesto sauce from scratch.

I am trying to teach my boys to grow up to be responsible and considerate young gentlemen... And of course, I am married to the greatest man the world- who just turned 40 and is traumatized. Gotta help him make this decade count. We are starting by him taking me to see Bon Jovi this year and I am taking him to see Flogging Molly, so I think it is going to be a success. And we will be heading down to Arizona to catch the Dodgers Spring Training for the first time.


I want to feel better next year. I want me energy level back where it was in my 20s. So my personal goals are rather reflective of my health and personal fitness. They are:

1.  Exercise 30 min a day 3 times a week...eventually running a 9 min mile again
2.  Bring my cholesterol down to under 200 without meds
3.  Wear more colors and less black.
4.  Lose the 15 pounds I gained after I became a vegetarian and fell back in love with carbs
5.  Draw a perfect smokey cat's eye with eyeliner
6.  Start seeing a chiro for my lower back pain (yeah, my prior years goals were getting back to skiing and rollerskating again and the falls probably didn't help my back any)

For now, I am signing off. It is after midnight and I have a very long day ahead. Lets see if I can get any closer to the goals I set for myself between now and the next time we talk.

My Hubby and I after a LONG hot day at Disneyland

FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND 2012

My BEST FRIEND AND I

Big Bear, California.  THAT INFAMOUS SKI TRIP--My back will never be the same again!!!

THE BLUES BROTHERS 2012