Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day and that means.... I've been "pop-free" for 2 years!


A few weeks ago, I spotted 100% juice at the grocery store and thought "that might make a nice jelly". Then, my son and I came down with pretty bad colds and it got put off. I finally made it yesterday.

I bought Knudsen 100% Black Cherry juice and followed the directions for lower sugar (classic pectin) sweet cherry jelly on the Ball Site's pectin calculator. I made 4 half pints. It was quick and easy. The black cherry jelly tastes like crushed Bing cherries. I used it on toast this morning and in thumbprint cookies this afternoon. Yummy!




 
The cookies were made with a Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix I found in the pantry. They spread quite a bit more than I expected...

I did a few with marshmallows and chocolate chips, a few with caramel apple jam and then black cherry jelly with chocolate chips.

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Last week, I made Cloud Dough for Connor. It's a recipe I've seen on numerous blogs, 8 cups flour mixed with 1 cup baby oil. It is silky, soft and moldable. I set up a few toys on the basement floor so Connor could play down there while I folded clothes. He loved it!!


Monday, January 30, 2012

House 2012?

We (with help) did quite a bit to our house in 2011.

- New bathroom floor
- New bathroom paint
- Re-stained outside of 3-seasons room
- Painted garage trim
- Finally burned our leaf/stick pile
- Re-caulked living room window
- Cleared out butterfly garden
- Added two fruit trees
- Built chicken coop from scrap material
- Repurposed dog kennel to chicken pen

This year, if money allows (haha...) in addition to the flower & veggie garden, I'd like to:

- Add another dog kennel to the chicken pen for a limited grass-time area
- Paint living room - change from the gold-tinged color
- Paint kitchen - keep it white, just needs new paint

And for a "big" project...

Basement Re-do.

We had a mildew problem in 2011 because we did not have a dehumidifier running. We plan on purchasing another one before spring hits and hopefully that will take care of the problem.

When you come down the stairs, there is a small area with a storage shelf, my chest freezer, and a storage rack with Tupperware. To the right, we have a walk-out that has my husband's desk (mini-office), rabbit pen and spare twin bed. To the left, we have the enclosed pantry, laundry area, and an empty area that has a dresser, cabinet with more Tupperware. We have a full bathroom down there, and open storage under the stairs. Also more storage in the room next to the laundry area with the sump pump, heater, etc.

The walk-out side is painted white with a painted tan cement floor. The rest of the basement has a combo of wood, orange paint and white paint on the walls, with a garage type floor paint. The basement is waterproofed. We've been told that the one family completely re-did the basement, then had a foot of water, lost all of their work and had to have it waterproofed. We've (knock-on-wood) never had standing water in the basement.

I'd like to...
- Repaint the walk-out side floor. Some of the paint is peeling off and it looks bad.
- Fix up a better area for my husband's mini-office.
- Fresh coat of white paint for the walk-out side walls.
- Maybe move the bed to the second floor. The other guest bed area is up there, it would make sense.
- Paint the orange walls... maybe a light blue? Something brighter.
- Change the lighting for... well, more light.
- Re-do the laundry area. Add a folding area/table.
- Create a play-area for Connor, probably on the laundry room side.
     - Need flooring
- Create a work-out area, also on the laundry side so I can keep an eye on him and keep him out of daddy's hair.
    - Need flooring
- Figure out something for the rest of the walk-out... Maybe a rug with a couch, tv set-up. A family area.

Yeah... so not much... maybe this should be a 2012-2015 plan...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Coasters

Have you seen my coasters?




You can order them online at my Etsy shop!


I am having a sale right now. Enter code ENDOFMONTH20 for 20% off. Valid until 1/27/12.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Connor and Rylan

Rylan is Jon's best friend's 3 month old son. They've been over to visit twice since they moved back from Florida. Connor just loves to hold him (supervised, of course)!



Monday, January 9, 2012

New Recipe: Oma's Sour Cream Chicken

I wanted to do something special with this blog this year, aside from the normal family updates and product reviews. I'm going to try to do a new recipe every week. We get stuck doing the same meals over and over. I got a really good deal on frozen chicken breasts and wanted to try something new. Chicken is so versatile and we have it often. My grandma always put mayonnaise on top of the breasts before baking them. I add seasoning and/or parmesan cheese to the mayo and call it simply "Mayonnaise Chicken". It's a favorite here.

This recipe is similar. It's called "Oma's Sour Cream Chicken". Money is tight this week so I wanted to do something with the ingredients I had in the house. Easy.

I preheated the oven to 375. I took 4 thawed boneless/skinless chicken breasts and put them on a foil covered sheet pan. Seasoned with garlic salt and pepper. Spread sour cream on top (use regular, not low-fat), sprinkle seasoned stuffing mix on top. My picky husband didn't want the stuffing, so I did seasoned breadcrumbs for his. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear and meat doesn't appear pink, done.

I served it with long grain rice and sauteed mushrooms. A side salad would have been a nice addition to this. The chicken was nice and tender. The stuffing had a nice crunch.

It was quite good! Even Mr. Picky liked it. Connor didn't eat it, but he's funny with meat at times. We will be making this again.

Here is the link to the actual recipe: Oma's Sour Cream Chicken

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Christmas Pics!

Ha, I just realized I never posted any Christmas pictures...

Jon and Connor with Santa Cow at Chick-fil-a

Our Christmas card picture

Connor and Santa have a deep conversation.

Connor's first time in a Moon Bounce, having fun with his cousin.

I made devil's food cake balls coated in white chocolate. Of course, I used my BabyCakes Cake Pop maker.

Opening gifts on Christmas Morning



All dressed up for the rest of Christmas Day!
Kate with my Uncle Roy

Sunday, January 1, 2012

RIP Goldie

Two days ago, we lost Goldie, the 5 month old Buff Orpington. She had been acting funny for a few days. She wasn't roosting with the other two and was very docile. She was normally quite flighty. Two days ago, she didn't leave the coop at all. I went to check on her in the afternoon and her vent was caked with poop. I went back in the house and got paper towels wet with warm water to rinse her off. She let me do it and didn't struggle. I set her outside to see if she'd stand, nope. I picked her back up and set her inside the coop. As I was securing the door, she started flapping around, fell over and was gone.


Jon dug a hole and we buried her in a corner of the pasture. I was already planning on planting wildflowers there this spring. Jon did a bit of research and found out that the flapping around is a sign of a heart attack. The other two have been acting fine.

The woman I got my chickens from is getting Easter Egger chicks in the spring and I'll get two more from her then.
In other news, Lace has finally started laying. I got one tiny egg from her that day and another today.