whatever

MY COMPUTER IS BROKEN!!

it’s so awful.

i am so addicted to it.

after 4 hours on and off hold and very little conversation with apple….

they told us to take it in to a service center.

boo hoo.

so then…they told us 10-14 days.

i said "i might die craig."

so…don’t forget about me.   

please.

this also means no pictures. 

and i have some really good ones to share.

AND…

i have been tagged by traci.

i am supposed to tell 7 random things about myself.

1. i have cavities in all my teeth. 

and i hate the dentist…(not as poeple but their job)

last year when i was told i had to get a root canal

i had emotional breakdown right there in front of the whole dental staff. 

it was ridiculous. 

i insisted on being put under or i couldn’t go through with it. 

i’d rather give birth…maybe.

2. in high school i had a fundraiser (with my friend tonya)

to raise money to cheer at the hula bowl in hawaii. 

it was called cow pie bingo…

we sold tickets for the squares on the ground

and when the cow pooped…if it went in your square…

you won!  i think the winner got ??? a cake? 

i can’t remember that part. 

how small town is that?

3. i adore will ferrell. 

i wish he was my friend.   

4. if i am flipping through channels and COPS is on…

i have to watch.  i am sucked in.

5. i don’t like football. 

i wish that i did. 

craig wanted me to go with him to the chiefs/packers game sunday

and i just couldn’t.  i knew i would be miserable…

i can’t sit still that long. 

he took scott instead.  it was a much better choice.

6.  i don’t like seafood.

none of it.

it smells bad and it feels so gross in your mouth.

to quote jim gaffigan "the best compliment you can say about fish is that doesn’t taste like itself…try the salmon…it’s not fishy"

7.  i almost can’t sleep if i can’t wrap my foot around craig’s ankle.

so that’s my 7 random things…

thank you to my neighbor amy for letting me use  her computer…

getting my fix.

the mirror is done.
a bit sloppy but looks the way i wanted.
colorful.

A is for Annie.
grandma do you recognize this bird?

or these?

my grandma gave me 4 bird statues to sell at my garage sale…
whenever i finally have one.
well…hope you don’t mind grandma
but i smashed them and put them on my mirror.
along with many dishes i have broken over the years.
or the kids have broken.
everyone’s first initial is on here somewhere.
if you have never done mosaic tiling…you should.
it’s very calming.

this bathroom gets crazier by the day.
the art is almost all filled in.
it’s all done by the kids.
i want to paint one thing on each drawing.
like some of the stripes on the cat or the beak of the owl.
just a little color.

this bathroom says “welcome children”
and that makes me happy.

i am not trying to turn this into a food blog.
but there is some really good food that i just love to share.
my mom made this at our house once and we were hooked.
it’s good hot but i love it cold too…later in the day when it’s sitting there…taunting you…
we have never had left overs the next day.
it’s that yummy.
and it’s easy.
the recipe is on the side again.

get all your ingredients together…
do you have 6 eggs and 3 apples at the same time?
that is nearly impossible around here.
usually if i am making this i have recently been to the grocery store.
6 eggs?!

melt the butter and pour it into your 9 x 13 pan.
kind of looks gross right?
don’t think about that.

do you have one of these?
the apple peeler/corer/slicer…by pampered chef.
one of the best inventions ever.
it is fun to use…definitely worth the money…you’ll have it forever.
i put down paper towels where i am working so it’s very easy clean up.
just wrap up the peels and cores in the towels and toss it out.

after you have them peeled and sliced cut the apple in half.
i feel sad for you if you had to do all that by hand…
but proud too if you are that committed to this breakfast.
your family will be so happy and you can pat your self on the back.

put them in the pan on top of the melted butter.
it’s okay to sneak a few here and there as you are layering…
it’s the only healthy part of this dish.

now add all the other ingredients together except the flour.
once it’s combined well then slowly add the flour…
to keep from getting big flour lumps in the batter
they are a pain to get out.

now it looks like this frothy eggy liquid…
it’s very runny…like egg nog?
thicker then milk but not as thick as batter.

pour the entire bowl over the apples & butter.
go a little slow so your hard work of perfectly alined apples don’t fly out of order.
it will just all float together…a happy egg, apple and butter bath.
i bet that product would sell at bath & body works.
i would buy it.

take the brown sugar and sprinkle it on the top.
when my mom made this the recipe was for a tiny bit of brown sugar.
after a few times i have increased this alot.
“i have a bit of sweet tooth”

put it in your oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
this is a breakfast dish so usually during this time i pour a cup of coffee
read a magazine…
or get dressed out of my pajamas…

now when it’s done it will look golden and crispy and very puffed up.
you will take it out of your oven and you will have this thought
“wow..i am an amazing cook. look at this. it’s spectacular.”
and you are right.

then you will turn around to refill your coffee
and put your hot pads away
and check your favorite blogs…then you will see what happens
it goes totally flat…
so don’t worry.
you didn’t do anything wrong.
it just does that.
if someone reading this knows a way to keep it puffy…please fill us in.
it tastes so good you will forget about how perfectly pretty it looked before.

you can get really fancy and sprinkle powdered sugar on it.
then close your eyes and pretend you are at a bed & breakfast.

so the next time you have you bring a dish for bible study (like i did tuesday)
or have a relaxing saturday morning…
or your mother is coming to visit…
make this!
or make it for yourself and eat the whole pan…i won’t tell.

as promised…
Pumpkin Spice Cake

for the recipe…click on the recipe photo album to the left…
then on the picture of what looks like words.
(i was so confused on how to do this…
is there a better way?)

since i don’t know Ree the pioneer woman…i will post my own recipe.
not to steal from her…just show admiration.
i adore her blogs.

gather your ingredients and get them all pretty like a magazine photo shoot.
pretend like better homes & gardens may be stopping by.
make sure they look pleasing arranged by proper height…showing their good sides.
please ignore that my flour jar has no lid because i dropped it and it shattered on my floor.
i kept it for 12 years though…that’s not bad.
and make sure your nutmeg shows and isn’t hiding in the back like mine.
this is the mother-of-five cooking not martha.
i laughed thinking how she always has fancy brands and hard to find ingredients.
everything in my cupboard is generic brand.
go great value!
i love kroger!

Ree the pioneer woman also taught me about this amazing product.
i had never heard of it…cooking spray with flour already in it.
it saves time and mess…i love this stuff.
spray your 3 cake pans with it and set them aside.
(doesn’t it look like a gigantic can? it isn’t..it’s a normal size can)

cream the butter until smooth…then add sugars.
you can hang your recipe above your mixer too…without a picture.
you could draw one.
or if you happen to have the country living from october 2002 you can rip out the picture from that.
i bet someone reading this has it…don’t you?

add the eggs one at a time…beating until smooth.

combine the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl.
i have made this cake maybe 10 times and i have always used milk…never buttermilk.
if you have it or make it you can use it but if you don’t then just use milk.
then set it aside.

combine the flour, powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and soda in another bowl
yes…you will have alot of dirty dishes from this recipe.
it’s worth it.

alternate adding the flour and the pumpkin to the butter mixture in the mixing bowl.
beat this until it’s all smooth.
it will look fluffy and be kind of thick.
not like regular cake batter at all…because this is no regular cake.

fill up those 3 pans that were sitting and waiting so patiently on the side.
fill them evenly of course…you don’t want a funny looking cake later.
and it’s okay if your 3 pans are 3 different colors like mine…
or if they are the same that’s okay too.
it just shows you care about that kind of stuff and you have nicer pans than me.

put them in your hot oven.
set your timer for 20 minutes.
then sit back and wait to have your house smelling like pumpkin and fall.
your family will begin to wander in saying “what are you making?”
or “how long till it’s done?”
and “it smells so good!”
for 20 minutes you can decorate your home with fall decorations…
to make this cake feel at home when it’s finished.
it is a fall dessert.
you wouldn’t want it coming out of the oven and seeing your 4th of july decorations still out.
how embarrassing that would be.
let them cool in the pan when they are done (toothpick test them)
after 30 minutes pop them out of the pans onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

now you can make your frosting.
mmmmm…..

combine all the ingredients but the powdered sugar.

beat it really fast to get it very smooth…that cream cheese wants to keep some lumps.

add the powdered sugar…4 cups but i have added more the past 2 times??
i am not sure why.
it needs to be thick enough to ooze over the sides but not drip off the side of your cake.

you can begin assembling your cake when the cakes are cool.
you don’t want to get too anxious because the frosting gets melty and then it won’t look nearly so pretty.
you can put it on any kind of plate you want.
i usually use my cake stand because it has the big glass lid and when i walk by it i can see how pretty it is and see how much there is left and how many more fork-fulls i can sneak.

isn’t she beautiful?!
don’t you wish you were here?
i wish i could share it with you…and a cup a coffee.
i just happen to have pumpkin spice coffee in my hand right now.
it would be perfect.
but unfortunately…there is only one slice left.
it will be gone before you could get here.

so go make one for your family…
but just get enough ingredients for 2 because as soon as it’s gone they will ask for another.
kind of like those “give a mouse a cookie” books.

annie is nearly potty trained.
i hesitate even writing that.
i don’t want to jinx it.

i took her to the store yesterday to pick a toy for her great efforts she’s made.
it was just the 2 of us.
she wanted me right beside her.
she slowly looked at all the toys….pushed the buttons…touched each one.
we looked at each baby doll.
i was sure she’d pick a baby.
she kept walking.
she passed the bubbles…the books…the noisy toys
and then a squeal of delight….this tin box of marbles.

she was so excited.
she was clapping and jumping up and down.
we brought them home and peeled off the wrapper.
when i opened the lid she made this little gasp…
“ohhhhh pretty mama”
she was right.
there were all sizes…

‘the biddest huuuuuge one”
(biggest huge always means very big)
i love this picture…she’s holding it so gently.
her hands are shaped like a heart.

“bid and wittel!!” (big and little)
can you see my reflection?

“the tiny babies”
they were so little in her hand.
she lined them up and played a song for them from her mcDonald’s american idol toy.
“music for the babies.”
seriously.

then they had to be dumped.
and then sorted and rolled and dropped.
each one was touched at least once.

can’t you just feel that on your hands?
cold glass rolling under your fingers?
and can you hear it?
all the glass clicking together..
i love annie’s choice…
even though i will be cleaning up marbles for the next year and half.

i call this one…’Marbles in the Sun.’
ha ha

hat from the antique store…and waldo behind

bowling ball at the thrift shop…”Lady” engraved on it
i wanted this but i don’t know why??
maybe because “i’m a lady“

this is here in town…in kansas…it caught my eye while we were waiting on a train…the stroller was on top of it…made me smile and think of my friends there.

post office boxes

“bees…your weapons are useless against them!”
tommy boy quote.

i bought this at the thrift shop
how have my kids never kids never heard of this game?

four of these in the yard today…

new “love Elsie” scrapbook supplies…super fun.

the art center in talby’s classroom

jars of spools…wish i’d bought one…or at least the little glass dish

the chippy painted mantel the jars were sitting on…very shabby chic

the locker basket i did buy..it was from joyland!
remember that place?

and the cutest little pot ever…$4
it will be holding some sort of art supply soon

raise your hand if you feel you are a slave to your hormones?
raise your hand if you would (want to) punch anyone who accused you of it?

i do.
i do.
me.
yes.

my saturday night consisted of a listening to a screaming 2 year old for 30 minutes from 2:15 – 2:45 AM.
then when all was quiet…i could not fall asleep again.
i got up and watched HGTV shows that were recorded till 3:30.
went back to bed.
still couldn’t sleep.
is that restless leg syndrome real? i think i have it.
got up and ate 2 bowls of cereal.
read 2 magazines and then 1 Corinthians.
i finally fell back to sleep.

then at church…annie decided for the first time ever to not go in the nursery.
more screaming.
craig was counting offering so i had to stay at church sitting in the hall with a naughty baby.

i was so mad….at everything.
mad that i was tired.
mad at annie.
mad at craig for being so smiley (and cute).
mad at myself for being so mad.

we went home and craig sweetly made me some lunch.
i ate it without saying thank you and walked up to my bed.
2 hours later i woke up to more screaming.
i was so mad that i went outside and cleaned up the yard.
then craig decided to go play golf…why?
was he feeling mad himself?
it couldn’t be my fault? (ha)

morgan did i do that right?
“whatever”

bottom line…i needed a break and i hadn’t taken one…the right way.
a break needs to be gone not just upstairs.
i haven’t been alone for a long time.
i remembered my post about going crazy, needing a break, being proactive, scheduling time for myself.
i looked it up.
it was exactly 2 months ago to the day .
june 5.
it made me smile.
“it was the hormoneees” (big fat greek wedding)
i know it’s hormones but it’s not like that helps how i feel.
i have got to have a break on the calendar.
so that it doesn’t get this bad.
i have to take it because no one is going to do it for me.
they just want to get away from me…but not have me leave..
who would fill the sippy cups and warm up the hot dogs?
i have to get this done.
i said i would and then i didn’t.
because by tomorrow i will feel okay and the urgency won’t be overwhelming me.
so maybe….i will just take the 5th of each month off.

after the kids were in bed we just vegged out.
tommy boy was on HBO.
how can you be mad watching that?
“BEES…they’re huge and they’re sting crazy!”
it cheered me up.

i stayed up late enough to ensure a full nights sleep.
and i am so grateful that annie slept all night too.

and not to be misunderstood…
i am grateful.
i am grateful for a loving husband who tiptoes around me when i get like this…to keep the peace.
grateful for forgiveness after i act this way.
for being understood by so many other mamas.
i am grateful for kids who play well together 97% off the time.
grateful for their loud voices and laughter and energy and healthy bodies
for a soft bed that i can crawl into on a sunday afternoon
for another day and another chance to try to do things the right way.