Happy Halloween…

 

From Princess Peacock

 

Buddy Holly,

!

and Goldy Gopher : )

 

{Halloween 2010}

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving 101…

One year, in an attempt to surprise MC with my awesomeness, I decided to carve him a Minnesota Vikings pumpkin. The fact that the Vikings were doing poorly and we lived in Arizona did nothing to deter me.

Although I could see where I had totally botched up the logo, he didn’t appear to notice. 

In truth, I was completely amazed.  I was pretty sure when starting on the pumpkin that I would end up with something resembling a constipated bull.  Imagine my surprise when it actually looked like the Vikings logo.

The following Halloween, he brought out his Minnesota Wild jersey.  Would I be able to carve their logo? I took one look at all the intricate bits and pieces of the logo and inwardly shuddered. 

Yeah! No problem I told him, and set to work.

Side Note: This is what a pumpkin looks like after it has sat out overnight in the warm desert air of Arizona. 

The summer of the next year we moved to Minnesota.  In keeping with tradition, I choose another Minnesota team: the University of Minnesota and their mascot, Goldy Gopher.  By this time, I was becoming bored with the whole pumpkin carving shtick. 

Maybe bored isn’t the right word…

Horrified.  I was becoming horrified at having to spend another five hours with my back hunched over, intricately chipping and cutting little pieces of pumpkin while my hands cramped and my arms itched like I had just taken a mosquito bath.

After the U of M pumpkin, I decided I was done.  I was throwing in the towel on this whole pumpkin carving thing. 

And then… the Minnesota Twins went and got themselves a new stadium.  Who was I not to celebrate that fabulousness?!?

Finally, something wonderful happened:  No one in my family cares about Minnesota’s basketball team, the Timberwolves. 

I was free!!! 

Giddy with excitement, I realized I could carve whatever I wanted.  Heck, I didn’t have to carve anything at all!  And so last year’s pumpkin was simply our last name.  I didn’t even draw it on the pumpkin first and, get this, it turned out kinda crooked.  I DIDN’T EVEN CARE.  Elated at escaping my pumpkin carving bondage, I slapped that baby on the front porch and threw a candle in it. 

The lesson in this?  If there is even the slightest possibility that you might have some kind of awesome hidden talent, DO NOT let your family know.  They will hold it against you and expect your awesomeness ALL THE TIME.  I can’t even begin to describe the palpable disappointment the BLT* displayed upon seeing last year’s pumpkin. 

*Not the sandwich, but bacon sounds really good right now…

This year, I was just going to have the kids go and pick one of the Better Homes and Gardens Pumpkin Stencils to print out and bow out of the whole pumpkin thing altogether.  And would you even guess what happened next? 

Our women’s basketball team won the championship. 

I just can’t win. 

 

Fourth Of July Recap…

After Christmas,  my favorite holiday… no,wait… Lemme start again.

After Christmas and Halloween, my next favorite holiday is the Fourth of July.  I thought I would share with you our Fourth of July {in Pictures}

{The day before the Fourth, people save their spot on the parade route by putting out blankets, chairs, and tarps. To my amazement, these items are not stolen by the next day}

 

 

{Lovely L and Bitty watching the parade.  We did not set out a blanket the day before.  MC and I sat up on a little hill and let the kids find a place on the curb.  As newbies, we’re just not used to having to plan a day ahead for our parade spot yet}

 

{My patriotic watermelon.  I way I figured it, watermelons have a similar rind to pumpkins.  Why not carve it?}

 

{Then, back to our house for a barbecue, bocce ball and sparklers}

 

{Playing with fire. I mean, sparklers}

 

{The fireworks are shot off at the end of our neighborhood.  Our city puts on a great firework show with all our favorites.  My favorite?  The one that explodes and looks like glitter.  Also, it makes a sizzling noise like bacon}

And there you have our Fourth of July.  What fun stuff did you get to do this Fourth?

5 Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas…

Ah, sweet Day of Independence!  Known for barbecues and blowing things up. Just in time for the Fourth I have found Five Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas.  Try saying that five times fast.

Fun Fact:  Did you know Canada’s Independence day is on the first of July?  Although they didn’t gain full independence from the United Kingdom until 1982…. So, I’m just saying… maybe they weren’t trying too hard or something…

And with that, I lost my Canadian readers.  All two of them. 

(Side note:  I actually love Canadians.  Really!  Since Minnesota borders Canada and the Northwest Angle is in Canada, I'm required to, eh. ; )

Now, onto the goodies!  First up is this amazingness:

Are you serious?  This pure awesomeness from Amanda of I Am Baker was a take-off of Elissa’s cake from 17 And Baking.  Fair warning:  If you head over to either of their sites, you will be there for awhile.  Because those two are A. Maze. Ing. 

Next up is Kami from No Biggie.  She showcased these fun *free* printables over at Tatertots and Jello:

Have I ever told you of my love of printables?  It’s seriously a problem.  I’m on an ink restriction right now because of it.  It’s full disclosure around here, so I just thought you should know. ; )

I couldn’t resist these from Kami either.  Because I like food that doesn’t require too much thinking.  And people, shoving a star shaped cookie cutter through a slice of watermelon is something I can handle. 

Oh. Man.  I love when decorating is this easy.  Print page.  Insert in frame.  Done.  Jamie over at The Crafting Chicks made my day with this.  Too bad I can’t print it out.  Ink restriction and all…

Although these patriotic strawberries have made their way around the Internets, I first found them at Baking Bites.  Nicole gives great instructions and dang, are these easy.  I may actually attempt these for the Fourth. 

And finally, we end with these awesome Fourth of July decorations from Madigan Made.  Not only are these incredibly cute, but she made them from Dollar Store candy dishes!!!  Madigan gives a great tutorial on how she turned those star shaped candy dishes into cute Fourth of July décor and I am definitely going to try it out.

And now I just realized I have six Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas. 

Since I like the alliteration of Five Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas, I’m keeping that the title of this post.  You can consider that sixth one a bonus.  You’re welcome. ; )

What plans do you have for Independence Day? 

In Which My Brain Ruins Father’s Day…

My Brain and I have a tenuous relationship on most days, and Fathers Day was no exception. 

For a few weeks, I had been in contact with my sister and mother-in-law,  helping them plan a Fathers Day breakfast for the guys. 

{My boys with their boats on the St. Croix River}

It should have gone off without a hitch.  And then I woke up… on Fathers Day morning… with a massive migraine. 

I woke up, crying and slobbering all over MC, who had been sleeping peacefully up until that point.  He knows the drill, and went off in search of an ice pack and migraine medicine.

 

{First game at Target Field, the new MN Twins stadium}

But it’s Fathers Day, and I am supposed to be helping cook up an awesome breakfast for the guys.  Instead, I can barely open my eyes and lay shaking in my in-laws basement.  I had taken the migraine medicine, and now I can think a little.  And I am ticked.  Stupid Brain!  Why would you pull this on Fathers Day?!?

Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law cook up a delicious meal and we head home.  Where MC tucks me into bed after giving me another migraine pill.  At some point later in the day, I wake up, headacheless but feeling completely drugged and loopy. 

{Hiking in Wisconsin}

I come downstairs to MC preparing to cook his Fathers Day supper.  I offer to help several times, but end up wandering aimlessly around the house instead.  Finally I pull it together enough to tell him, ‘No way you’re doing this yourself.  I’m grilling the burgers and brat thingys.’

It only occurs to me as I’m lighting it that I haven’t actually cooked anything on a grill since 1995. 

The rest of the evening is a blur except for the key points of 1.  I didn’t burn or otherwise ruin the brats and burgers and 2.  I took a shower.

Although I didn’t get to do any of the things I planned to do for Fathers Day, I hope MC knows how much I love and appreciate how much he does for me and the kids. 

And if my Brain ever tries to pull a stunt like that again, we’re going to have a serious discussion…

Dyed Deviled Eggs...

The Master Chef came home today with an awesome idea. Although he has many awesome ideas of his own, this one came from a co-worker of his. See, that work thing really has its benefits. ; )

Here’s what we made:

Check it! That’s dyed deviled eggs, people! Is that awesome, or what?!? Perfect for Easter, right? And you seriously won’t believe how we did it. So. Simple.

The Master Chef hard boiled the eggs.

Then, he peeled them.

I dyed them the same way you do regular Easter Eggs. (Paas. I know you were dying to know which brand we use. I like it because I don’t have to shell out a lot of cash… HA! I crack me up… Okay. I’ll stop now)

So there you have it. Dyed Deviled Eggs. If anyone makes these for Easter, let me know how they turned out!

Deviled Eggs:

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

3 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks and mash with a fork.

Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.

Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Courtesy of (who else?) Betty Crocker

I hope you and your family enjoy a blessed Easter weekend!

Go check out more linky awesomeness:

Five Things on Friday: Free Printables!

I love decorating my house for the holidays, especially if that holiday is Christmas. In fact, I might have a Christmas decorating problem…

It’s entirely possible that I have too much Christmas stuff, as evidenced by the fact that I have no room to store decorations for other holidays. Which means I have to make do with just the few little Easter decorations I talked about here.

So if I can find something that I can decorate with and not have to store, I gotta have it. Especially when it’s free. Check out my kitchen counter:

See that big frame? No, that’s not free, the printable inside it is! Yes, I have a wine bottle full of corn. It's an Indiana thing.

(Anybody know who to credit that printable to? I can't find the site I printed it off of, dagnabit ): )

That’s right, these printables are created by some awesome women that want to share their craftiness with us. Check out these fun printables:

Today's Fabulous Finds

The Giving Madam

I love the thought of having a frame with our 'family rules in it, too:

Adventures of a Betty Crocker Wannabe

Endless Crafting

Sprik Space

LOVE THEM. I just need to change out my frame to an Easter printable and bang! Instant decorating that I don’t have to store in my garage!

And there you have five fun printables to put in your house.

P.S.: Check out the Tip Junkie for pages of more awesome printables!

The First Five Things on Friday...

*UPDATE*

The Jello trick was AWESOME. I almost blew it because I couldn't stop giggling as I served them their 'juice'. I think this worked so well because I brought out a pitcher of red juice and set it on the counter in front of the kids. Even after they realized they couldn't suck anything up through the straw, they kept trying, which cracked MC and I up.

Nope, this is not an April Fool's joke. For my very first Five Things on Friday, I thought I would share some of the great trick food ideas I found while scouring the Internet. Why was I intently searching for two days (no, really! I was) while freezing in my basement? Well, to fool my kids with some awesome April Fool's Day foods, of course!

The first thing I came upon was genius. Fill your child's cup with Jello and let it set overnight. I love the straw stuck in the Jello:

From Amy at LivingLocurto.com

For a main course, may I suggest cupcakes? Mmmm, yummy! That is, if you're a fan of meatloaf and mashed potatoes...

Although I love both meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I have to admit that taking a bite of something I thought was going to be sweet and finding something meaty sounds...well, nasty. But funny! Is that so wrong?

From Julie at the303griffiths.com

Here's another 'dinner' that looks like a dessert. This one sounds tasty, but that just may be because I love anything having to do with pizza. This is made in a Bundt pan with mozzarella cheese melted on top to look like icing. Awesomeness!

From Tasteofhome.com

From two dinners that looked like desserts we move on to two desserts disguised as dinner. First up is a 'grilled cheese sandwich' that is actually made from pound cake and icing.

From Familyfun.com

That looks so real! I feel like warming up a bowl of tomato soup right now. Did anyone else have grilled cheese and tomato soup growing up? In our house it was the go to meal for something quick and easy. Next up: Spaghetti and meatballs anyone? Nope, this is butter cream frosting, strawberry ice cream sauce and malt balls. I think this would totally fool my kids. And they would love it!

From Tasteofhome.com

I can't wait to see the kids' expressions when they try to drink their 'juice' tonight. Oh, and the Master Chef's... I kinda switched his dresser drawers around...

Happy April Fools Day!