Gather Around the Table

I am super excited to release, announce, make available...whatever you want to call it MY COOKBOOK!!!!! Woo-hoo! It will be available on Amazon in about a week and at 1000 other outlets in 6 to 8 weeks. In the meantime you can order your copy for just $9.99 (yes I am shamelessly advertising right now) at:

https://www.createspace.com/3795322

I promise it is super yummy and fun to read.

Honest

Whatcha waiting for?

Go get your copy and get cookin' today! :-)

PW's Iced Coffee With a Slight Twist (And Pump)

I like Coffee....no....no....no......I LOVE coffee. In fact I really <3 <3 <3 *Coffee*<3 <3 <3 Even better than just regular coffee is ICED COFFEE. Living in the southwest it gets very HOT and nothing is better than a cold drink to help combat the heat. I recently purchased the new Pioneer Woman's cookbook (PW stands for Pioneer Woman in case you were wondering) and in it is a recipe for iced coffee (she also has it listed on her website). I immediately made a B line to my local market to pick up everything to make it. I ran into two dilemmas. First, I could not find cheese cloth (used to strain the the grinds). Secondly, I did not have big enough containers nor the storage space to make as much as the recipe makes. Not a big deal about the second reason -- just half the recipe. Well, after some modifications I figured it out! I also changed the recipe slightly because I like me some Cowboy strong coffee and hers is much more creamier and silky. Mine is more of a "WOW! Now that is some strong Coffee." This is how I make it. Oh, and before you ask "Why not just brew it and then add some ice?" Basically, by cold brewing iced coffee it does not hurt your stomach. I have always ended up with a sore tummy after I brew coffee and put it on ice. Apparently I am not the only one that has that problem. It is really hard on your stomach lining. This coffee taste better and does not cause you any discomfort.

I used the Pampered Chef large pitcher that holds a gallon of liquid. I like it because you can pump it (so to speak) and make sure you get all the coffee grinds soaked in water. First, I empty one pound of coffee grinds in the pitcher and add water until it is full. I then pump it to make sure the grinds are thoroughly soaked. Let it sit for 24 hours on the counter. Any less time makes for weaker coffee.

 Next, you are going to strain it. I could not find cheese cloth to do this step so I just used my coffee maker and poured it right through. It strained it just fine (I mean that was what it was made to do, right?).

I have to empty out the basket after each pour because it is icky. Just make sure you empty the grinds in the trash and not your garbage disposal because it will end up causing problems with your pipes. I learned that the hard way.

 See, it strains it perfectly :-)

 Naturally, all that coffee will not fit in one pot. After each full pot of strained coffee I pour it in another container to just hold it. Oh, and yes those are PW cookbooks behind my pitcher.

 As the last portion of coffee is straining I wash the Pampered Chef pitcher because I am going to use it to store my coffee. The reason is because of the pump feature on it. See, I add about 1/3 can of sweet and condensed milk to the coffee.

 Now, add the coffee and pump away to mix it thoroughly. Every time I want iced coffee I can just pump to get it all mixed up again. Easy peasy :-)

 The finished coffee. This should last us three or four days and there are two of us that drink it. Not only do I like this better than my " Venti Iced Cafe Americano with Sugar Free Vanilla Extra Ice Light Water Upside down" from Starbucks it is also way more economical.

 My coffee. Totally love the Mason jar as a cup. In fact, I am going to replace all my cups with Mason Jars! Cute, cheap, and functional. I mean I can slap an lid on it and shake for a perfectly shaken beverage :-)

Purple Potty

This is going to be a strange blog entry. I mean it is gonna make you scratch your head and wonder why on earth I would talk about something like this, but I am just like that -- random and strange. Hence, sometimes my blog entries will reflect that.

Before I go any further I would just like to give you a little background on why this topic excites me. A few weeks back we were at a dog show in which my kids' were competing. I had to go to the bathroom so I ventured over to the restroom. You can imagine my shock and brief panic when I walked into the women's restroom and there were no doors on the stalls. Now, I have been in plenty of nasty bathrooms in my lifetime. Heck a few years back I was in a bathroom and got some hobo's pee all over my pants. It was disgusting, but at least I had a door. Never in my public bathroom use have I not had a door on a stall until that bathroom run.

SO, fast forward to last week when once again I found myself at a dog show and needing to take a tinkle. I ask my fellow show goers where the nearest restroom was. They all directed me to the outhouse/port a potty.

Oh no.....again? Last time I had my Coach purse with me and did not know what to do with it in the doorless stall....this time I had a different, but nice purse. Where was I suppose to set it in a stinky port a potty? I then thought "at least I have a door." I then ventrued off to find the toliets.

I was so happy when I walked in and saw this:

 Yes, that is fully stocked toilet paper in a silver container. And that is my naked leg that the TP is resting on....took the picture as I tinkled....I really had to go. Hey, don't judge me. I have had three children. Two of which were over 10 pounds and if I don't go when I have to go I WILL drizzle.

You can imagine my complete and total delight when I turned around and saw an area designed for my Starbucks coffee cup....okay maybe not my Starbucks cup, but a cup holder none the less! Oh joy!

 There even was a fully stocked area to cleanse my hands complete with soap, paper towels, garbage can, and a foot pumped water faucet. Oh to be able to pee in comfort and wash my hands is pure bliss!

 What is this? A mirror too?!?!?! A lot of restrooms in public parks do not have a mirror, but this purple slice of portable bathroom heaven did. I was able to fluff my hair (love that big curls are coming back in. I mean take a look at the hair, cute right?) and apply my lipstick.

I was tickled when I saw the full instant hand sanitizer right there in the port a potty. I was able to give a quick squirt before sitting down to pee...and during the process of urination...and of course right after I went. I am kind of a clean freak and having pee of my own or anyone else on me grosses me out. In fact, I just threw up in my mouth at the thought of it.

 

Finally, let's not just take a moment of silence and appreciate the best part.....their beautiful wonderful royal color -- PURPLE.

I don't recall ever having so much fun and appreciation for a bathroom before, much less a port a potty. Take a moment today and relish in the simple (and sometimes disgusting) things in your life that make it easier. Oh, and every time you have a door on a stall be thankful.....oh and a place to set your Coach purse in a bathroom...be thankful. In all things be thankful. Even in the bathroom -- be thankful.

The Best Cookies EVER (Gingerbread Molasses)

Today I made the yummiest cookies ever. Well, they were the yummiest cookies I have made since Christmas, but still good! This is MY cookie:

 Yes it is on my leg. I was being a slob and lazy...did not want to have to dirty a plate and had no patience for a paper towel. You are lucky that I even took a picture of it because it really wanted to be in my tummy. Is that picture not good enough? Here is another one of a plate full of these yummy cookies:

 They were super easy to make too! I bet you want to know how I came up with this sweet treat, right? You did not actually think I would keep it a secret did ya? Of course not! I am gonna tell you just how to make these little babies. Here they are before they went into the oven:

 I just love raw cookie dough, don't you? You wanna know a secret? I ate the equivalent of a cookie in it's dough form. Yeah...I did....totally guilty as charged. I gotta confess that it tasted way better after it was cooked though. That like never happens, but with this cookies, so yummy after it has had time in the oven.

The secret to this cookie (or one of the secrets to this cookie) is the sugar that you roll the dough in.

 Then you just place them on a cookie sheet (or in my case a stone), bake in a 350 preheated oven for 16 minutes and there you have it -- the yummiest cookies in the west.

But....wait....the recipe...you have not given us the recipe. You just told us about rolling them in sugar and baking them, what are the ingredients.

Well, that is the thing...I have no clue what the ingredients or the portions are...I really don't!

That is mean!

How can that be so?!?!?! You made them right? Well yeah I made them, but not really....

See.....

I cheated....

I was lazy and found this at Trader Joe's:

Yep, I am a schmuck -- a total fraud, but WOW were they good!

The Seven Monsters

I have been missing in action on my blogging the last month. Part of the reason is because we have had another litter of Golden Retrievers. They are now 7 weeks old and are getting ready to head to their new homes. Whenever we have a breeding it is always a fun time in our home. It truely is a family affair and we all pitch in to make it successful. However, by the end of week 8 we are pooped out and ready for our fur babies to go to their loving homes. Here are a few pictures of this litter:

It always amazes me at how much these puppies grow in just 8 short weeks. They come into the world unable to see, hear or walk. They simply rely on Mama to feed them and they use their nose to find her. Then, just a few weeks later, they are ready to tackle the world -- a gentle reminder to cherish everyday and live in the moment because nothing last forever even though it may feel like it.



Resolution for 2012

I was inspired by my friend's, Tricia, blog and her challenging her readers to pick a word for 2012. When I first read her word I only could come up with a phrase. I am  not a "Resolution" type gal, so I don't really do them. However, this year I really want to get a few things done and off my plate. It seems as if last year I started a few different endeavors and did not complete them. It was like I got them almost done, but not entirely. This is not like me at all. I tend to take on a task and just get it done. So my phrase was "Get 'er Done". Then, I was challenged yet again to modify it and come up with a word by "A Year in the Life on an Art Journal". That is when I came up with this:

 Yep....my word is "FINISH". I had to really think about why I had not completed the things I had set out to do last year. I mean, it is not like I did not have the time...the kids have been in school from 8 -3 since mid August. That gave me 4 months to knock a few of these off of my list.....but I didn't. Hmmmm.....I am not a procrastinator, but I am a perfectionist. That is when it dawned on me. I did not finish these things because I was afraid of failing...or even worse REJECTION. Yep, I was/am being a coward and I got to get over it. One of these things I started is something that has been with my for 25 years. 25 years! That is 1/4 of a century. Isn't it time to get it off my plate and move on from there? See, I have been writing a book and it is time to wrap it up. Just take a leap of faith and get it on Amazon. It is time....I need to complete it. I will fail if I don't get it done, so I should just get it done, right? Gets me closer to success then if I do not. That is really the biggie on the list.

Once I came up with my word I then wrote down the things I need to finish. From there I completed the challenge from "A Year in the Life of an Art Journal" and this is the finished project (no pun intended...okay maybe a little bit of a pun)

So, what is your word this year?

Just An Update

I can not believe that it is almost 2012. Where has the year gone? Thinking past over the last year a lot has changed in my little world.

 In August I went from constantly having a child under foot with no more than a 2 hour break to all my kids in school from 8 -3. Now, I thought in the beginning that I would mourn this new transition in life. I totally over thought about it and went through the motions of licking my wounds and drowning in my sorrow even though....get this...I never went through it. I can't believe I am saying this, but I LOVE this new stage in my life. I enjoy my kids a lot more now too. Not that I did not before, but they are able to do more stuff with and we can have more grown up conversations with humor. It is great!

 I had a few health scares and have to get blood work done now twice a year for the rest of my life to keep it under control. From this I have learned that my veins run deep and slightly slanted. If I tell the tech that it does not hurt to have my blood drawn. Not feeling like a human pin cushion is such a good thing.

I never brought this one up, and it is totally TMI and I am sorry, but it was a huge deal in my little world just because it was such a PITA. What am I referring to? Well, the never ending period. Seriously for about 6 months I was only not bleeding for 4 days out of the month. I am not out of the woods with my girly troubles just yet, but I am almost there. I got to admit that even though I am totally done with having babies the thought that my body is starting to line up in agreement with my choice I made 6 years ago makes me sad.....I am getting old :-(

We are finally seeing some relief from the economy. Seriously, the last three years have been really hard. We actually had to talk about things like letting our house go into foreclosure and how long we thought the bank would let us live in it without paying on it. That was a brief conversation and only lasted like 5 minutes, but the thought of it was scary. I am happy to say that I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train coming to run me over....well.....I certainly hope not, but who really knows, right?

One thing that has helped our family soften the blow of the economy is our kennel. I am happy to say that we have breed Goldens and I really love it! I can work from home and fall in love with cute little furry babies. True, saying good bye to them as they go into their new homes makes me cry like a big ole' baby, but that is a small price to pay considering the blessings these little guys bring to families and therapy organizations.

Here is a very limited amount of pictures of the last year:

I leave you with this sweet photo of Parker and the BLUR. The Blur was one of our puppies from the last litter that Parker took a liking to. The Blur is now a Guide Dog for the South East Guide Dog association basically because of Parker dragging this animal everywhere and "training" him to be able to be hugged on no matter what :-)

Many blessings to you and yours in 2012!