The List

My oldest son is a Boy Scout.  He's working toward his Eagle Award, the highest award in Boy Scouting.  One of the Eagle requirements is to earn the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.  The other day, AKD asked me to help him work through a home safety checklist, which is one of the things he needs to do to earn the Emergency Preparedness badge.

You can read the whole checklist here (pages 11 & 12), but let me just give you a sampling of items from the list:

Stairs/halls are kept free from boxes, toys, brooms, tools, etc.

No.  Just...no.  However much I beg, plead, wheedle, and cajole the children to put their toys away, it just doesn't happen consistently.

Disinfectants & cleaning products are out of reach of children.

Um...and how are they supposed to use them if they're out of reach?  What happened to all those merit badges and pins where the boys were supposed to do chores around the house?

Spilled grease, water, or bits of food are wiped up immediately.

Well, sometimes.  But the truth is, most of the spills in our household are child-initiated.  They don't even report their spills most of the time, let alone clean them up.  See: Stealth Vomit.

Before bedtime, furniture placement is checked for orderliness.

Alright, sometimes, I will make sure that there is a path from the bed to the door through the debris, or from the door to the bathroom.  Does that count?

Wax on floors is thoroughly buffed.

Come on, people.  You really think we have time to wax?

Housework clothing has no drooping sleeves, sashes, or frills.

Shoes worn for housework have low heels.

Um...I'm supposed to have special housework clothing and shoes?  How could I have gotten this far in life not knowing this?

Everything has a place and is in its place.

And therein lies the problem, my friends.  Everything is most certainly not in its place at any given moment.  How could it be?  We live here.  And while I do have that handy-dandy mess-seeing power, there are four of them and only one of me.  My putting-away-ing is not able to keep pace with the pulling-out-losing-interest-and-leaving-it-where-it-lies-ing (which I have to admit, I do a fair amount of, myself).

I can laugh about it now, but as AKD was reading down the list, with each one of the questions that had to be answered to the negative, my self-esteem took a blow.  By the time we were done I was feeling completely inadequate and emotionally drained: like I could do nothing right.  These are basic safety requirements.  That I am not meeting.  Ergo, I am failing my family.  It's a wonder we're not all in the emergency room right now.

This happens every time I try to measure up against some outside standard.  Every time.  I look around and everyone is so much better at just about everything than I am.  And they have nicer stuff, too.

And that's the problem, friends.  I shouldn't be looking around, I should be looking up.  Up to the One who made me, just the way I am, imperfect on purpose.  Up to the One who loves me and redeems me.  Up to the One who deems me righteous.  God's standard is the only standard by which you or I can be judged.  And God has judged me...and you...worthy.

For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in [Christ Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

The lilacs outside my bedroom window are blooming.  You know, the ones we didn't even know were there until last spring?  Those ones.  They're blooming.

It's a great reminder to me that just because you don't see something doesn't mean it's not there. 

Sometimes, in the busy-ness and routine and ordinary, I don't see God at work in my life.  The stuff and things of life block my view, and after a while I forget to look beyond the clutter and noise to the God of everything. 

And I forget that God is there. 

But like the lilacs, hidden from view by weeds and junk trees for years, just because I don't see God, don't feel God, don't hear God, does not mean that God is not present.

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,

for the Lord your God goes with you;

he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

On a Mission

I'm on a mission.

Does anyone else want to add, "from God" on to the end of that sentence?  Ah, the Blues Brothers.  It's been far too long since we've spent time together...

Anyway, this mission is not from God.  The nice folks over at Smiley360.com sent me two full sized bottles of new AVEENO Active Naturals Nourish+Dandruff Control to try--I chose 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner and conditioner, but you can also get shampoo.  Wasn't that nice of them?

And now, my mission, which I already chose to accept, is to tell y'all about it.  Keep reading for my thoughts and a $3 printable coupon below.

So I should tell you, I do not have dandruff.  I do have experience with dandruff shampoos--my husband used them for years, and I tried a couple of different varieties to deal with cradle cap with a couple of my kiddos.  And I do have an itchy scalp.  Ugh!  So annoying.

See, the problem with traditional dandruff shampoos is they tend to dry out your scalp, which, in turn, contributes to the dandruff issue, as well as making your scalp itchy.  The big deal with new AVEENO Active Naturals Nourish+Dandruff Control is that it combines an anti-dandruff ingredient with Active Naturals oat complex to soothe dry itchy scalp and infuse moisture into hair. 

So, you don't have to choose!  Isn't that great?

The scent is pleasant, and not at all overpowering, and it's nice and thick. My scalp was instantly soothed when I applied these products. But the very best part is how soft and manageable my hair looks and feels.

But, does it work, you ask?  Well, like I said, I don't have dandruff, and we don't even have anyone suffering from cradle cap right now, so I can't speak to that, but I will tell you that my itchies have been greatly reduced, and my hair is so soft and under control, even.  And believe me when I tell you, good hair days are few and far between around here due to my thick, long (because who has time to get a haircut), and very curly hair.  Since I've been using these products, I've had more good hair days than bad...so I'm sold.

I found AVEENO Active Naturals Nourish+Dandruff Control at Target, for around $5 for a 10.5 oz bottle, but you can get it at Walmart or drugstores as well.  And, if you'd like to save a little money while battling your dandruff and/or itchy dry scalp, click here for a $3 off coupon.

Thank you to Smiley360.com for providing these full-sized bottles of product for me to try, free of charge, for the purposes of this review.  All opinions are my own. 

Busy-ness

It snuck up on me: this perfect storm of busy-ness and chaos that is twirling and swirling around me, tearing at the edges of my sanity.

My mantra when it comes to laundry? "At least it's clean."
I call it Mount. Bluefield, and I'm diligently waiting for it to put itself away.

Somehow, I don't think this is what Jesus meant when he said if we just have faith we can tell mountains to move and they will. 
Then again, maybe it is.

Nah, it's not that bad.  It's just...that time of year.  The end of the school year "stuff" is ramping up, spring sports have started, and I still have all of my other household and family responsibilities.  It all leaves me exhausted, wondering, at the end of the day, what just happened.


You see, it's a delicate balance we've developed over here, and if we add one thing, maybe even two, we're OK.  But when you start adding eleventy-million field trips (why did they have to wait until now?), plus 6 sports practices/games a week (and that's only 2 children--what was I thinking, having 3?), a travelling husband, and all of the "fun" end of year school stuff, like kite day and the talent show and lumberjack breakfast and picnics and who knows what else they're going to throw at us...it's all we can do to keep moving forward.

And sometimes?  In this storm we call life, with the wind whipping and the rain pouring?  Progress is measured not by forward movement, but simply by not falling down.

Are you with me, friends?  One day at a time, one foot in front of the other.  Leaning into the storm.  Standing.


And...not completely unrelated...here's how my s'more cupcakes turned out.  Sounds like everybody loved 'em.

Solutions

Last night on the news they were talking about birds crashing into windows and dying.  Apparently, this is a huge problem in Minnesota.  They showed this woman from the Audubon Society who has this upright freezer just full of birds who met their fate at the hands of window glass. 

Have y'all seen the design for the new Vikings stadium?  It's pretty much one big window (I think it's gorgeous, and would love to see a game there, but I'm afraid I won't be able to afford it), and that has the bird people upset.  Because birds are stupid (no offense, birds).  And that means birds are going to die.

They're all in a tizzy about it.  In fact, Vikings officials are meeting with the Audubon society later this week.  To talk solutions.

Me?  I have the solution.  I don't know when the last time a bird crashed into our windows was.  And do you want to know why?

I don't do windows.  It's as simple as that.  All those stadium people need to do is put smudges and fingerprints all over the stadium glass.

You're welcome, people of Minnesota.

Thank you to CityPages for the stadium images.  Isn't it lovely?

S'mores on a stick

Tomorrow, I'm responsible for bringing a dessert to MC's year end Cub Scout campout.  This is the celebration of all of the boys' accomplishments this past year, plus their advancement ceremony.  And an excellent opportunity to get filthy, at which the boys all excel at taking of advantage.

I originally thought it would be fun to bring a s'more cake.  You know, a cake that looks like a giant s'more?  But then I realized that individual servings would be more practical than a cake that someone has to cut and serve, so I started looking around for s'more cupcakes on Pinterest (where else?).

I decided on these:

Chocolate Marshmallow S'more Cupcakes
from Duncan Hines



Don't they look yummy?  Well, if you're a person who likes marshmallow, I mean.

But as I was looking, I came across several recipes for s'more cake pops, and, being informed that Hubby was afraid there would not be enough dessert for the campout, I decided to make them, too.  Only easier.  My friends, I give you: s'mores on a stick.

You will need

wooden skewers, marshmallows, chocolate for dipping, and crushed graham crackers.

Place 3 marshmallows on a skewer,

dip in chocolate to cover, tapping off excess,

roll in graham cracker crumbs until coated (unrecognized file format strikes again...so no pics, but trust me--it's easy).  Lay on wax paper for chocolate to harden.  That's it.

YUM!  I mean, if you're a person who likes marshmallows.

My 10 oz bag of marshmallows yielded 12 s'more pops.  But then because I had extra chocolate and graham cracker crumbs and an open bag of marshmallows in the cupboard, I made some doubles and singles.  'Cause, you know, why not?

 

And then I did this.  Because, you know, presentation is everything.

 

 

Also?  I am insane.

 

Happy S'more-on-a-stick-making (and eating)!

Planting time

Well, I don't really know if that title up there is true--with this crazy weather we've been having, who knows when planting time is or was or will be?  Two weeks ago, we had 6 inches of snow on the ground.  Yesterday, our temp reached 95.  I think mother nature must be experiencing hormonal fluctuations.

But despite the uncertainty, urged on by my little helper, I planted about half the garden space this morning.  We planted sugar snap peas, pumpkins, zucchini, and pickling cucumbers before my helper lost interest, and then I planted more cucumbers and zucchini, spinach, carrots, radishes, and a few sunflowers.

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?  I'm really not sure how we ended up with so much to plant--probably a result of shopping while hungry--never a good idea.  I probably planted everything too close together, especially considering how those pumpkins like to take over the place.  I guess we'll just see what comes up, right?  I am particularly hopeful that the spinach will do well.  Yum!

I'm planning to plant several tomato plants in the flower beds in front of the house again this year--since the flower beds receive more sun than our garden, they did really well there last year.  Hopefully we'll get enough to can again this year (and/or friends will give us their excess garden produce for us to can).  I also discovered a packet of mixed annual flower seeds in our stash, so maybe this weekend I'll go out and turn over the back half of our little garden space and sow those there.

I'm coming across more and more recipes that I'd like to try calling for fresh herbs, and I'd like to grow some, but I'm not sure where yet.  Perhaps in pots on the back porch, so they'll be proximate to the kitchen.  Not a whole lot of sun back there, though.

And finally, I'm hoping that *someone* (cough, cough, my husband, cough, hack, cough) will give me some hanging flower baskets for the front porch for my birthday.  Usually the kids give me flower baskets for mother's day, but I guess they figured the fine mesh sieve (that I bought myself) was both a more urgent need, and a sufficient gift to show their appreciation to the mama.  Thanks, kids :)

And that's it!  What are you planting this year?

Mini Fruit Pizzas

I loooove dessert.  There is a problem with dessert, however, and that is, if dessert is available, I will eat it.  All.  Of it.  So although I love dessert, and I love making desserts, I rarely do make them--usually just for birthdays and when we have company to help us eat them.  That's why I jumped at the chance to bring a dessert for the teacher appreciation luncheon at my kids' school this morning.

The other problem with dessert, or specifically with making dessert, is it's so hard to decide what to make.  So many good choices out there.  So I put it to my Facebook friends.  The contenders?  Candy Apple Cheesecake, Fruit Pizza, or Caramel Almond Poke Cake.  After the voting opened, I decided red velvet apple cake pops would also be a fine choice, but not wanting to confuse the constituency, I did not put that one out there.

What would you choose?

The winner was this ooey gooey Caramel Almond Poke Cake from Betty Crocker.

Mmmm... It looks so yum, doesn't it?   And, to tell the truth, this is the recipe I wanted to win.

 

That's not what I made, however.  I made mini fruit pizzas.  Why, you ask?  Because one of my voters just happened to be one of the to-be-appreciated, and as such, her vote was worth 100,000.  She voted for fruit pizza.

 

But you know me, I can't just make a fruit pizza and call it good.  I've got to make it cute and individually sized, 'cause that's how I roll.  You know, built in portion control.  Although built in portion control doesn't do a whole lot of good when you eat 5 of 'em.  *Sigh*

 

ANYhoo!  For the base/crust, I started with Pillsbury Pink Lemonade Cookie mix.  Because I got it practically for free (2 cents!) when it went on clearance last fall, and I thought the tartness of the lemon would complement the sweetness of the frosting/sauce.  I have it on good authority that Pillsbury Pink Lemonade Cookie mix is available again in a store near you now, but if you can't find it or don't want to bother looking, here's what you can do:

• Follow this recipe using Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
• Follow this recipe from scratch, omitting the glaze
• Use Pillsbury sugar cookie dough (you know, the stuff in the tube)
• Use your own favorite sugar cookie recipe
• Use your own favorite sugar cookie recipe, but replace 1/4 c of the liquid with 1/4 c of pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

Bake the cookies according to your recipe and allow to cool.

 

For the frosting/sauce beat 8 oz of cream cheese or neufchatel until creamy, adding 1/4 c granulated sugar, if desired.  Then fold in an 8 oz container of cool whip. 

 

Place the cream cheese mixture in a zipper-lock bag, snip off a corner, and pipe the frosting on to the cookies.

 

Top with diced fresh and/or canned fruit.  I used blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, and peaches.  Grapes, raspberries, pineapple, and mandarin oranges would also be good.

 

And that's it!  Enjoy!

 

Oh, and the other advantage of individual-sized servings?  No one notices if you swipe one...or five... before serving ;)

On May snow days and frog rescue

Hey y'all.  Happy May!  I just love this time of year...the birds chirping, the flowers blooming, the sun shining, everything greening up, Mommy's day coming...

 

 ...the 6+ inches of snow that fell overnight... 

Note to self: next time you buy patio furniture, get the kind without cushions.

It sure is pretty, though. 

So this morning, the boys and I were out shoveling.  Why, you ask?  I mean, snow at this time of year melts within days--why bother?  Well, consider:

1. Our driveway is fairly long, as driveways go, and from the house, it goes down, curves to the left, and then goes up again to the road, fairly steeply
2. I am not a very confident driver.  I tend to go slow in snow, especially around curves like in our driveway, and although I have tried, I cannot for the life of me back-up our driveway (in other words, if I get stuck in the driveway, I really am struck until a better backer-upper happens along.  Or the snow melts.  You know, whichever comes first).
3. Hubby took the 4WD vehicle today.

All of which leads me to believe that I will not be able to get out of my driveway with my vehicle unless I shovel.  And even though I have nowhere to go (until 4:30), I do like knowing that I could go somewhere if I wanted.

And that was a nice side tangent, wasn't it?  Oh, why wasn't I snowblowing, you ask?  Well, my friends, this snow is too wet for the snowblower.  AKD tried, but didn't even get a full swath done before the chute clogged.  Bummer.

So, shoveling it was.  Well, OK, I was shoveling.  The kids were around the side of the house, where the pool is, being awfully quiet for a snow day.

I just went with it, because, you know, shoveling is my zen (by the way, our faithful friend is still with us).  Oh, maybe that should have been one of my bullet points up there: shoveling is zen.  And as a mommy to 3 boys, I don't get a whole lot of quiet.   

Anyway, turns out the boys were trying to rescue a frog that was clinging to some icebergs in the pool.  His throat was all puffed up to make his own personal floatation device, and he was hanging on for dear life.  Frogs are cold-blooded, remember, so with the water temp at right around 32 degrees, there wasn't a whole lot more he could do than that.  He must have thawed out from his frog-cicle hibernation when we hit 70s and 80s (just two days ago!) and then he was stuck when the weather turned cold again.

My boys, they have a special place in their hearts for frogs and toads (remember this?  And this?  We're going back there this summer), and if I'm being completely honest, so do I.  I have many fond memories of catching tadpoles and frogs and attempting to keep them as pets.

We just had to rescue the poor little guy.

 

And yes, I let them bring him inside to warm up.

 

They're already plotting ways to get me to let them keep him.  Oye.

Healthier green drinks--for St. Patrick's Day and every day!

I started this post right after I posted about our homemade shamrock shakes back in March.  I wanted to give you some healthier green alternatives to drink on St. Patty's Day and beyond.  I mean, shamrock shakes are yum, but they're not something one should consume every day.

Green smoothies, on the other hand, are also yum and a great way to sneak green leafy veggies into your diet. 

Have you heard of green smoothies?  So basically you take some green leafies, like spinach or kale, and blend them together with some sort of fruit, a liquid, and protein.  They're called green smoothies because they usually end up green in color, but I promise you, you cannot taste the green stuff.

If you're not feeling confident enough to just throw a bunch of stuff in the blender, go ahead and google it.  There are tons of great recipes out there.  To get you started, here's my favorite:

Green Monster Smoothie

Blend together

• 2 handfuls of spinach (green leafies),
• 2 Tbls peanut butter (protein--you can use any peanut butter, but Peanut Butter & Co.'s White Chocolate Wonderful is divine...and available at Target), and
• about 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk* (liquid--more or less to get desired consistency), until well combined. 
• Add 1 banana that has been sliced and frozen (fruit) and blend until smooth. 
• You could also add protein powder, ground flax or chia seeds to up the nutrition.

This makes a very filling meal or 2-3 snack portions.

* You can also make this with cow's milk or soy milk, or any kind of milk you like.  It's your smoothie, so make it how you want to.  I just think the almond milk tastes better.  You can also add non-fat vanilla or plain yogurt to up the protein and calcium.  Make it your own.

I know what you're thinking: but it's green!  And there are little green flecks in it (that's because my blender isn't very powerful).  I promise you, friends, it tastes like a banana peanut butter shake.  So yummy.

And because I started this post talking about shamrock shakes, here's a recipe for a Shamrock Shake green smoothie style from Hubby's cousin.  The blended banana acts like ice cream--this tastes creamy and minty just like the real ones, only better.

Blend together 1 frozen banana, 2/3 cup soy/almond milk, handful of spinach, 1/8 tsp peppermint extract.  She likes to add a little piece of a cacao chocolate bar and some stevia too.

Have you tried green smoothies?  What's your favorite?
Happy green smoothie-ing!

Bored

Becoming increasingly annoyed by my boy's repeated insistence that he's bored and there's nothing to do (oy! and it's not even summer yet), and by his repeated rejection of all of my perfectly good and unboring suggestions, I gave him an ultimatum.

 

Son, if I hear you say ONE MORE TIME that you are bored or that there is nothing to do, I WILL GIVE YOU something to do. 

 

I know that doesn't sound like a threat, but you know it is, my friends.

 

And FINALLY, he gets it.  All on their own (I didn't even have to get the set out), the brothers built...

 A Rocket Ship!  And went on a trip to the moon.  Last I heard, they were collecting moon rocks, and finding the perfect hiding place for a moon pearl.

"We're so creative" --Bubby
"And we didn't even use the instructions" --MC

***********

And Hubby wanted me to show you this--he's so proud of himself.  His hangers are all back hanging the "right" way.

April 23

What a night.  It started around...well, I'm not sure when 'cause my brain doesn't work too well between 1 and 2 in the morning.  Our power started flickering in and out, which woke Bubby up and sent him to our bedroom.  Because in Bubby's world, flickering power is cause for alarm.  I sent him to the bathroom, at which time the electricity failed.  While he was peeing.  Oh, the poor kid--probably traumatized for life.

 

Well, actually I suppose you could say it started long before that, with the rain changing over to snow and dumping about 6 more inches overnight.  Sure is pretty...

I think the power going out must have woken MC as well, because within a few minutes he showed up too.  We ended up having an impromptu slumber party because everyone was too scared to sleep on their own.  And slumber parties?  With those two?  Let's just say not a whole lot of slumbering actually occurs.  I'm already fighting the cranky due to lack of sleep.

As you can probably tell from the fact that I successfully posted this blog entry, the power has been restored.  Super fast customer service over there ;)

In related news, Beaver-ly sent me some cozy socks to keep my toesies warm.  Perfect timing.  Thanks Beaver-ly.

Also in related news, my husband and oldest son are crazy.  They have informed me of their plans to go kayaking this evening.

What we made this weekend

 MC made

BLUE BELT!

 

Bubby made

a SCOOTER.

 

AKD made MEMORIES on the river.

(and I can't find that camera, but I'll add a picture when I do)

 

Sawblock made

a BIKE RACK

 

Scarlet made

chocolate chip cookie dough brownie bombs...

 

...and pints number 8 and 9 of maple (boxelder) syrup.

 

What did you make this weekend?

Southwestern Chicken Wraps

I made these southwestern chicken wraps for supper the other day and they were sooo good!  Oh my good gracious they were delicious.  And so easy.  And totally customizable--you could very easily make these vegetarian or vegan, or even just have the the ingredients laid out separately so folks can customize their own.  It was also the perfect recipe for eating in shifts--Hubby, Bubby and AKD ate while MC and I were at karate, and then we ate while they were at Boy Scouts.

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

Click the picture for the recipe.

MC even ate his with the black beans, green onions and green pepper in it.  That's amazing, let me tell you.

Just a few notes: Hubby and I did use the sour cream, and it was so yummy and creamy.  I also had part of one without sour cream and while it was still delicious, it wasn't quite as snarf-worthy.  We also used whole wheat tortillas, which was amazing.  I imagine if one used home made whole wheat tortillas, these would be divine.

Enjoy!

Another sappy update

Good gracious, people!  When we started this sappy experiment, we had no idea it would be such a rousing success.

To date, we have finished 5 pints of syrup.  Just in case you're not up on your English unit volume measurements, that's 5/8 of a gallon.  And just in case you're not good with fractions, that's more than half a gallon of yummy pure maple (boxelder) syrup.

But we have a little bit of a problem.  I'll show you:

The season's gone on a little tiny bit longer than we thought, and we've been getting a lot more sap than we imagined we would. 

GIVENS:

1. The most sap I've ever cooked in a day was 3 gallons.  And that was going non-stop from about 8 a.m. to about 10 p.m.
2. I currently have 8 gallons of sap waiting to be cooked (yes, we still have snow on the ground--there's snow in the forecast, too. Don't let that distract you). 
3. Yesterday, I collected 5 gallons of sap at around 3 p.m., and this morning, I collected another 4.  Overnight, FOUR gallons.
4. Based on the weather forecast, we've got at least 5 more days of sappy weather coming*.

Sap!  You are not supposed to flow at night!  And I really should not have taken a break from syrup making yesterday.

I can't keep up.  Soon, Every. Single. Container in our household that is capable of holding liquid will be holding sap.  That's our cake saver up there. 

It holds 2 gallons, just in case you were wondering.

Yes, this whole experience has exceeded our expectations tremendously.  We were hoping for a quart of syrup.  We're gonna end up with more than 4 times that.

* With a conservative estimate of 5 gallons per day for 5 more days, um...uh...help?  If we do this again, we're gonna need a bigger evaporator.

I made modeling chocolate (and a trampoline cake)

As you probably surmised, we had a birthday last week.  Our middlest child turned double digits.  He chose to celebrate by taking a couple of his buddies to a magical building filled with wall-to-wall trampolines.  You can literally bounce off the walls at this place.  We love it.  LOVE it.  And yes, there is a foam pit.

 Blurry.  'Cause he's bouncing.

Due to the nature of his celebration, MC wanted a trampoline cake.  Go ahead and google it--pretty much all of the trampoline cakes out there in cyberspace use fondant.  And look like round back-yard trampolines.

That would not do.  Not at all.  Not gonna do fondant.  And we needed ours to look like the wall-to-wall trampoline place.

So I made modeling chocolate.  Modeling chocolate is playdough made out of chocolate (or in my case, orange candy melts).  Anything you can do with polymer clay, you can do with modeling chocolate.  It is super easy to work with, tastes good, and requires just two ingredients.  Modeling chocolate has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me as a cake artist.

I baked a 9x13 cake and left it in the pan to support the "walls".  I frosted the cake with chocolate frosting--for a more authentic look, use buttercream tinted black, allow to set, then use a clean basketball or a piece of window screen to add texture.  Next, I frosted graham crackers and placed them on the cake along the edges for walls.  Hint--you can use a serrated knife to cut graham crackers into triangles for the corners.  Pipe more frosting to fill in any gaps, then smooth seams with a wet finger.

Next, I rolled out my orange modeling chocolate and cut it into strips using a table knife.  Then I placed the strips on the cake in the wall-to-wall trampoline grid shape.  I found some silhouette jumper clipart and printed it out on cardstock.  Then I found some pics of the boys who were celebrating with us, printed them out and stuck their heads to the clipart jumpers, attaching them to popsicle sticks.  And yes, the heads are big like that on purpose.

The boys got a kick out of the fact that they were jumping on the cake (even though Thing 2's hand started smoldering)--they all wanted a piece from "their" section of the trampoline--and MC loved it.

Happy modeling chocolate and trampoline cake making!

April 14

Happy birthday to an awesome 10 year old!

Unstoppable

I recently read Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action by Nick Vujicic.

 

In this book, author Nick Vujicic explains, through stories from his own life and others, how he put his faith into action to become unstoppable in adversity and difficult circumstances, including personal crises, finding love, job challenges, health concerns, self-destructive thoughts, and bullying. 

 

I wanted to like this book.  I mean, look at the cover: here's this man, born without arms or legs, and he's surfing.  Surfing.  This man has not let what others see as a disability sideline him--he has built a successful career as a motivational speaker and leads a full and meaningful life by clinging to God's promise that he was created for a unique purpose and that his life has value.  It's incredibly inspiring, and I can see why people flock to hear him speak.

 

I had a hard time connecting with this book on a personal level, though, and I've been trying to figure out why.  For one thing, the book is too Nick-centric for my taste.  He was always talking about what he has done, what he's said, and what people have said to him, but never expanding on any of those conversations.  I was expecting more of a self-help (that's not exactly the right term) book, but what I got was a biography.

 

I also had a hard time connecting with this book because the issues addressed didn't really apply to me.  It seemed written to someone much younger than I, addressing things like bullying and finding a spouse.  I found myself stretching to find anything that would apply to me in most of the chapters.  It does seem like much of his speaking is done to young adults, and Nick is much younger than I--perhaps his writing will mature as he does. 

 

In addition, I was distracted throughout the entire volume, wondering about the how of Nick's life.  How he gets around, how he types, how he eats--which was never addressed.

 

In conclusion, while I find Nick's story to be inspiring and I did find a few nuggets of wisdom in its pages, reading this book felt like a waste of time.  It just wasn't for me.

 

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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For additional info see:

Author's Web Site

Book Trailer Video

Follow Nick on Facebook

Nick on CBS Sunday Morning

Nick on Oprah

More Info

Read Chapter One

Author Bio

Syrup Success!

Believe me when I tell you, my friends, that when I wrote this post yesterday, I had no idea I would be writing this post today.

As I was cooking it down, the sap was looking awfully syrup-y, and was wanting to boil over, so we decided to finish off a batch of syrup last night.

We made syrup!

!!!

 Isn't it beautiful?  Such a gorgeous maple-syrup-y color.  And a yummy maple-syrup-y taste, too :)

FAQ (OK, so no one's been asking any questions, but I'm sure that's just because I've been doing such a good job of explaining everything.  These are the questions I'm sure you would ask if I didn't take the time to answer them now.  You're welcome).

How did you know the syrup was done? 
Well, here's the deal.  As we're cooking the sap to concentrate it, it's mostly water, so it boils at around 212*.  As the sugar becomes more concentrated, the boiling point starts to rise, and when the syrup is 66% sugar, the boiling temp is 7* higher.  So when the temperature of our syrup reached 219*, we knew it was done.

Why does the syrup turn color, and where does the maple taste come from?
The color and flavor are due to a Maillard reaction. You can read about it here (thanks to my brother for the link).  And no, I didn't know this, although I should have because of all that organic chem-misery I had to take.

How many gallons of sap did it take to make how many pints of syrup? 
We cooked a little less than 10 gallons of sap, and it yielded 1.5 pints of syrup.

Are you going to keep collecting sap? 
Yes, we're going to keep collecting sap as long as it's still flowing.  The combination of below freezing temps at night along with above freezing temps during the day is what makes the sap flow, and as of right now, that's the pattern we're in.  As soon as any buds pop, though, the gig is up.

Will you get enough for another batch?
I don't know.  I sure hope so :)  We've got another 2 gallons of sap ready to go, and I think we've got at least a week left to collect more, so there's a pretty good chance.  We'll need about 7 gallons to make a pint of syrup.

May I please have some of your homemade syrup?  Please?  Pretty please?
Well, if you happen to be here while we're eating it, then yes, of course you can try some.  I doubt it'll last long around here, though!

This is very interesting. Where can I read all of your sappy syrup posts?
Right here.

What are you having for breakfast tomorrow?
Pancakes with homemade maple(boxelder) syrup, of course!