Play Dough

O loves play dough.  She likes to break it up into bits and roll it into tiny balls.  She also likes practicing shapes with cookie cutters.  It's great fun!

L has never tried it before, so this last time I took it out I decided to let her give it a try.

 I was well aware that I needed to watch her a little bit closer.  She tends to be more adventurous when it comes to putting things in her mouth. She doesn't realize the importance of making sure things are edible first. 

So, I was careful to show her how to roll it and tear it and press it, but never put it in her mouth.  I even cut out an "F" with a cookie cutter for her and let her practice with it. 

Then, I got distracted.  I stepped away for a minute.  And when I came back her teeth were red.

And this was on the table.  

I think, perhaps, I should find a recipe for edible play dough.

Jungle Girl Syndrome

I am a jungle girl.

Don't worry.  I'm pretty sure it's not contagious. 

All it really means is that weird things happen to me in kind of weird and random ways.  Sort of like I'm an accident waiting to happen, but a completely odd sort of accident. 

I fall up stairs a lot.  I trip on invisible cracks in the sidewalk.  I run into walls.  I find holes no one else can find.  I've sprained pretty much every joint in my body, including my jaw.  I stepped on a stingray once--the only person in a crowd of 6 or 7 to find a stingray to step on. 

Just to name a few of my random accidents.  I've often been told things like,"How does something like that happen?" or "I've never seen anything like that before!" or "That was the most spectacular stumble I've ever seen!"  Yeah, I like to keep things entertaining. 

The good news is, none of my accidents have been serious...just strange and unusual. 

Here's a good example:

 See those vicious cuts on my hand?  You would think I had a run in with a crazy cat or a rabid squirrel or something like that.  But, no...I had a run-in with spaghetti. 

Yup, you read that right.  I said spaghetti. 

It was raw...still stiff, not floppy.  I was breaking the spaghetti in half before dropping it in the boiling water.  The last batch, though, apparently didn't want to be broken and put up a little mini fight, leaving me with those nasty scratches. 

Crazy, right? 

But, what can I say.  I'm a jungle girl.  Things like that kind of come with the territory. 

I'm still a nice person.  =)

What about you?  Are you a jungle girl (or boy)?

Scalloped Potatoes

This is one of my absolute favorite meals to make.  Not only is it delicious, but I also think it is fun to put together.

I don't actually have a formal recipe.  I learned to make this while watching my sister put it together and then I added my own modifications to it.  So, hopefully this will be understandable.  If you have any questions, though, feel free to ask!

First, start with some potatoes: washed and peeled.

 The amount you use will depend on how much you want to make.  I like to fill a 13 x 9 inch pan because I like to have leftovers.  This would feed my family of four (2 adults and 2 small kids) for a couple of meals at least.  I estimated about 2 potatoes per person, but, for some odd reason, I only took a picture of 7 potatoes.  Hmmm...

Moving on.  Dice the potatoes up really small.  I cut the potato in half then cut each half in half again lengthwise and again widthwise before chopping them up. 

 The smaller your potato pieces are, the less time it will take to cook.  I like to get to the food as quickly as possible, you know.

Put your chopped up potatoes in a greased 13 x 9 inch casserole dish.

Next, add half an onion, diced up.  The size of your dices depends on how strong you want the onion flavor.  I like it fairly strong.

 Throw the onions in with the potatoes and stir them up. 

 Try not to get too enthusiastic with the stirring, though.  Those potatoes will fly out of there pretty easily. 

Now is a good time to add some seasoning.  I stick with seasoned salt, but I'm sure garlic powder would be good too.  Whatever you like.

 Here comes the meat.  I use some form of sausage; it kind of varies depending on what I have or what I am in the mood for.  I got these beauties on sale.

 I cut these up small too so that they will crisp up a little while they are baking.  Cut each link in half lengthwise, cut that half again lengthwise and then slice and add to the pan and stir it up.

 O loves the sausage too.  She kept swiping pieces while I as trying to take pictures!

Now add some flour, enough to cover the potatoes.  This is probably about 1/4 cup.

Here is a secret ingredient:

 Add some ranch dressing mix (isn't it awesome that it comes in big bottles now?) on top of the flour...again, how much you add depends on your taste.  I like a pretty good amount.

Now, stir it all up again to get everything pretty well coated with the flour.  Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk over the top of the potato mixture, making sure it covers the whole pan.  The milk mixed with the flour makes a beautiful and tasty sauce. 

Now put little pats of butter or margarine over the top of the pan (evenly spaced of course). 

 Top it all off with a generous amount of shredded cheese.  Mmmmmmmm

 Cover it with foil (so the cheese doesn't burn) and throw it in the oven (350 degrees) for 30 to 45 minutes, until those potatoes are good and soft. 

Pull it out, let it cool for a few minutes, dig in, and enjoy!

Cake Pops!

 I've been wanting to try cake pops for a long while and finally had an excuse to make them for a friend's birthday last week. 

They were really pretty easy to make and lots of fun.  My only problem was I ran out of dipping chocolate and I haven't had time to make more! 

Also, they aren't as pretty as Bakerella's. 

 And, I wish I had a better camera.  All in good time, though. 

They still tasted good and they still look yummy.  That's all that matters, right? 

 Oh, that and I've still got a freezer full of cake balls waiting to be dipped and popped!  I know what snack we're having for Conference!

Rainbows

St. Patrick's Day.

This was O's first year to show some understanding of leprechauns and green-wearing and rainbows and gold!

Mostly she liked the rainbows, so I ran with that.

We bought some fruity cereal just for the occasion. 

First we sorted it into colors.

Eating some along the way, of course.

Next we took sheets of white craft foam and some glue and stuck our cereal on in a rainbow shape. 

Here is hers.

 And, here is mine.

I like her's best.

We left our rainbows on the mantle so that the leprechauns would have a place to leave their gold.  I thought we were being pretty clever. 

They were on to us, though, and didn't leave the whole pot of gold.  Just 3 gold-covered peanut butter cups.  I can handle that.

The leprechauns were going to cause a little bit more mischief, but, unfortunately, our house got sick that day.  So, after turning our milk and pancakes green, they took off.   I can't blame them.

Next year, we'll make our trap rainbow more enticing.

Creating Sarah

As I was leaving church today, I encountered three young kids playing.  They were playing in the grass, but had found themselves in a situation where they either needed to cross the parking lot or go back the way they had come in order to reach the large grassy area they had started out in. 

Obviously, cutting across the parking lot was the quickest way, so the two oldest took off running.  The youngest, however, was mortified when this happened. 

He looked at me and screamed:  "They're running in the street!  They're going to DIE!!!!!" (kudos to his mom for teaching him the dangers of crossing the street)

"Meh," I said, "I'm watching them.  They're ok.  You can go ahead too." 

He grinned at me and took off running, no longer worried that he would meet his untimely end. 


When I was a kid, I used to wonder when the magic moment was that I would transform from kid to adult--girl to woman.  I never did figure it out, but it appears that the moment has come and gone without me noticing!  Here I am, sitting in my 30s with a husband, 2 kids, responsibilities, my own furniture, and even adult cereal. 

I even have kids looking to me for permission crossing the street/parking lot.  I am even qualified to hold a hand should the occasion call for it!  Apparently, I have successfully made the transition, and for that I am glad.

But, I had a lot of plans for adulthood.  I used to really look forward to the time when I could be a woman--a mom.  I had ideas about what my house would look like, what I would make for my kids, how I would teach them, how I would show my husband I love him, how I would finally stop being shy and reserved and afraid to reach out to people, all kinds of things!  You know, how I would be Sarah: A Really Great Person.

So, that's why I'm here.  I've decided that it is time to stop waiting for someone to tell me to go ahead and start being me.  It is time to do it.  Time to try the ideas that have been piling up in my head for years. 

I'm here to keep track of my adventures.  I'm here to discover myself and be comfortable with myself.  I'm here to make friends.  And, I'm here to have fun.  Let's go!

Welcome Home

I have this big black filing cabinet sitting right near the entry to my home.  Because of its location, it has a tendency to get very, very cluttered with all the things we drop as we walk in the door.

I hate that!

So, I cleaned it off.

I wish I had gotten a before picture, but that might have been embarrassing.  =)

Anyway...

Now, it looked a little too empty and I had a great excuse to start a new project!

Yay!

I pulled out this framed picture that I found at a dollar store some time long ago.

I pulled out the picture...ripped it off actually.  It was in there pretty tight and I lost the frame in the process of removing the picture. 

That's ok, though.  Because of the way it was put together, the frame wouldn't have worked anyway.  So, I salvaged the glass and the board from the back. 

The rest...well, it gave its life for the cause and I see that as heroic. 

Moving on. 

I pulled out my Cricut and cut out some happy words.

I wanted something that would be welcoming as the first thing we saw coming in the door and also reassuring and uplifting as it reminded us what being home means. 

I laid my words out on the glass in order to see how it worked.

This was my second or third arrangement.  It worked the best.

So I stuck them on permanently.



Next, I got a piece of blue scrapbook paper and Mod Podged it to the back of the glass. 

Doesn't that look better?