Happy 4th of July

Wow! Party, party, Race comittee and another party tomorrow!  OMG  Stop me now!

So yesterday after work i went to the gym, it felt good! then home for a quick shower and change to go to an annual beach party with reggae band, good food and great rum punch!  Then up early for the Breakfast on the beach! We always start off the summers with breakfast on the beach party.  WAHOO! that is early!  I cooked 9 dozen eggs to order and had a great time cooking next to my brother.  We had four grills on the beach going, bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, fruit and baked goodies.  Honestly i never saw the baked goodies i was to busy cooking eggs!

While at the party i hear they are taking APHRODITE out for Race Committee.  What you do not know this boat? OMG she is beautiful!Oh you want to get closer to the boat??

Oh my goodness! I have dreamed of getting on this boat!  Well today was the day! Today Out i went, happy as a calm and boy can she move!  She is beautiful in and out! and to learn of her and her who’s who guest list! Shirley Temple had a birthday party on her! OMG how cool!

Well it was a fun day watching the races, and I took lots of pictures!

Tomorrow ANOTHER party! Who knew such a party girl!?!

Happy 4th!  here are a few photos of the races!

Happy New Year!! Welcome to 2009

Phew! I made it out of 2008!  Did not think it would end!  But here we are! 2009!!

Well I hope all of you enjoyed ringing in the new year!  This year I went out the first time in many years.  After all having three kids, it is not always easy to get out.  I rang in the new year at the casino, wow! what a great place to do some people watching!  Good food, good drinks even better friend.

This past year taught me a lot about me and the world I live in.  So much has happened good and bad. That is how we grow is it not??  just a few things this year…

• spending time with my wonderful growing boys
• sailing on a 12 meter…still get excited by that!
• kids starting to ask about their bodies, OMG I am not old enough or mature enough to talk about SEX and erections and all that goes with it with my children…. I AM NOT READY
• became a high school sailing coach and love it!
• work has been challenging to say the least, but have learned how many “battle buddies” i have!
• learned how a friend of mine is unconditional and how he restored some faith in people I had lost, he many not even know it.  thank you
• went back to court and there was someone that believed me.  heard what i was saying.  saved my children.
• we have not seen or heard from him since March. And we are more than OKAY without him.
• and of course so much more has happened but i have kept a wonderful record of it here on my blog!

I know every year we all see New Years as a blank slate.  So how is my blank slate filling up this new years?

• I would like to have patience for my children ,for myself and all those around me
• I would like to stop building walls and start building bridges
• I would like to be a more unconditional
• I would like to fill the void that i have in my world or at least open to the idea of filling it.  It is time.
• I would like to learn to forgive, not to forget but to forgive.
• I would like to live instead of just surviving.

Welcome 2009, I am ready for all that you have in store for me. The great, the good and the bad.

Food Friday: Red Velvet cake

I make this cake twice a year, christmas and for my dad’s birthday.  It is soooo good!!!

This week i made the cake, I have a few photos to share, but the first cake i made, stuck to the bottom of the pan and crumbled.  YUCK. being a four layer cake i had to make another.  So here is the recipe for my redvelvet cake.

RED VELVET CAKE

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
2 ounces Red food coloring
2 tablespoons Cocoa — heaping
2 1/4 cups cake  flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1 cup Buttermilk
1 tablespoon Vinegar

***Frosting***
6 tablespoons Flour
2 cup Butter (Not Margarine- you can tell the difference in the flavor).
2 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cup Milk
2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Make a paste with coloring and cocoa and add to mixture. Add salt and flour with buttermilk and vanilla.  add soda and vinegar and don’t beat- just blend.

Bake in two 9-inch pans (greased and floured with cocoa powder) for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Layers may be split to make four using dental floss.

Frosting:

Cook flour and milk on low heat until thick. You must stir or whisk the whole time on the stove.  Careful not to burn!!!Then cool (I put it in the fridge for this.). Cream sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy.   Now i put the milk mixture in the bowl, whip.  Slowly add the butter and sugar mixture. Beat until mixture is like whipped cream. Spread on layers.
Now with all the excitment of having to bake two cakes, christmas and such i totally forgot to get a picture.  Then I thought i would take one when i took the cake to my aunts.  BUT they cut the cake before i could get a picture! so here is a picture courtesy of Betty Croker.

So there you have it!  My famous recipe!  LOVE IT!  What do you make every year?

Merry Christmas!

Phew, I escaped. I am alive!  i found the children!! of course it was not until i dug them out of the christmas wrappings and found them at the bottom, reading books, playing their new DS games, comparing loot or playing with new star wars!  It was all in all, a good christmas.  The boys this year got star wars toys, action figures, space ships, (dont ask which ones I have NO idea. see pictures, best i can do!)  I found my brother, was so excited about their presents, and he wishing he could be a kid again.

I figured i would share a few of the moments today….

here we have the calm before the storm!!…

Here Nathaniel is waiting to go down stairs to see what awaits him!  DS in hand just in case there is a new game under all that wrapping…

Even the dog could not wait to get downstairs!!…..

Happy faces coming down the stairs….

Nathaniel inspecting the new star wars ship!

Raymond looking at his new star wars figures! Jordan looking on….

Uncle John inspecting the new Starwars ship, he is dying to play with them all!

Raymond explaining his new game to Uncle John.  He is beyond excited! (look how tall he has gotten!)

Jordan arranging his new Pokeman cards!

The three boys opening a present from their great aunt, guitar hero for Wii

Nathaniel with the deer in headlights look….

Tomorrow is food friday, do i hope to write about my red velvet cake!  YUMMM!! and then i will have to tell you about the yankee swap, hysterical!, a purse, some lotion and tampons!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Memo listed as: Urgent Message….. your month has just raced by and this week is Christmas

Oh my  it has been days!  and you are still here! MY my my goodness. what a roller coaster of a month. I can hardly believe this week we will be celebrating christmas!

So my dad had a “man to man” talk with the boys.  He just could not take it any more.  He told them there was no Jolly old fellow climbing through anything eating and drinking your cookies.  That it was the spirit of giving.  A time to be with your family.  Unbenonst to me, i said a week after their little chat, so have you written a letter to santa.  i am sure he does not know what to get you unless you tell him.  Honest “Abe” aka Nathaniel, tells me in his quiet voice, “mommy, we know”  My heart did sink a little.  WHAT!! first thoughts were to hang on to it, then Raymond got into the mix.  trying to “shh” his brother.  I knew something was up… i calmly asked what they knew, Raymond pleading with Nathaniel to keep his mouth shut….well here it came.  the true story, grandpa had told them a week or so ago on the way to school.

I must say i felt a little relieved.  Finally this lying to the kids was over. phew. and they were very excited to keep the secret.  they understood what that meant! Hell two years ago, my dad told them about buying my mom a phatoen and they did not breath a word!!  I parked up the street, and when she walked down the stairs she could see her license plate on that new car!!  it was such a cool christmas and the kids were in on the secret!

Speaking of my mom she was devastated that the kids knew about santa, i think she wanted to hang on a little longer.  so we told teh boys that nana still believes and we need to keep believing for her!  they agreed and though it was cool they were in the back of the car hatching a plan on how they were going to make it a great xmas for nana!

well you all be proud to know i DID buy a christmas tree this year. Okay so it has been about six years maybe more since i have bought one! but my brother would always bring me his. I am just not a christmas person.  i will explain someday…..but i went with the boys, some road stand, with a fire pit, only reason we stopped.  I found the coolest tree.  it is about 5 feet tall!! i know it is small, i really wanted one that i could have planted in the ground, but they no longer had any. so i settled with this one.  (you know ecomonic hard times now, who knows where we will be next year i could have chopped it down for a second use!!) next time…..

Raymond decorated it!! with some help.  but lets face it he was in charge!!

Okay so the tree was finished and Raymond is so proud of it!  this makes me happy!!  Now how long will it stay up is the question??  we shall see….

oh did you get hit by the snow storm?  YEAH SNOW!!! BOOO SHOVELING SNOW!!  here are a few pictures from my house before i started to shovel us out!!!

Ahhhh well i am sure i have a few exciting stories to tell.  so rants to let go but tonight i am going to bed.  in hopes that my hand will be better in the morning. i feel on the ice while walking around mystic.  UGH i just do not have time to have it looked it.  we shall see….

Thank god time flies, as this too will pass

Phew, how long has it been?  So much excitement this time of year! So much happening! hard to believe we are half way through December!

well a few highlights:

• the boys had a “man to man” talk with my dad about Santa!  Raymond did not want to tell me he knew.
• bought two books, Where did we come from? and What’s happening to me? *giggle* OMG funny books but very good in answering questions
• been to the denstist mulitiple times, should have been a dentist, to bad i cannot stand other peoples teeths… YUCK
• finished christmas shopping except for my mom.
• changes at work, some good some very bad….
• jordan had his first concert in the band, he plays the baratone and it is as big as he is!!
• lantern light has seen Mrs. Palmer and Mr. Jennings out and about the town…and fooling around in the variety store with Mrs. Stillman!!

Okay so i hope to keep up a bit better on this blog, but man time is killing me!!  Thank heavens time does fly, as this craziness will pass!

Food Friday: No bake Oatmeal Cookies

So i will admit i am not a baker.  I would rather cook.  I think most people are either or.  Well when i was younger i found this recipe to be awesome.  I have been racking my brain for a cool recipe that is easy and good!! It is great to make with kids, not baking involved, a little stove top cooking.  They would make great christmas cookies too.

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES

1 stick butter
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. oats

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except peanut butter and oats and cook over medium heat.

Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and oats.

Spoon out quickly onto wax paper or aluminum foil.

Cookies will harden as they set.

Enjoy!

Food Friday!! Spicy Coconut Chicken Casserole

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

So I decided to join in the food fun.  I will confess this is a Martha Stewart recipe, but it is AWESOME!!  I have made it several times and the kids LOVE IT! and so DO I! easy to make and easy one pot clean up!!  YUMMMY!!

And for all those who cannot eat wheat or dairy! Here you go!  A great recipe!

SPICY COCONUT CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Ingredients

Serves 4.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 whole chicken legs (about 3 pounds total)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 ounces green beans (stem ends removed), cut into 1-inch lengths
• 1/2 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in two batches, cook chicken until browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate (chicken will cook more in step 2).
2. To pot, add coconut milk, broth, 1/2 cup water, and curry paste; bring to a boil, and stir in rice. Add chicken (with any juices), arranging pieces in a single layer. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, without stirring, until rice is almost tender, 15 minutes.
3. Scatter bell peppers and green beans on top of chicken mixture; cover, and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Thank you cards

Phew! I have been swimming in wrapping paper, packaging from toys, and toys toys toys! Okay maybe i am still swimming in toys, robots, and star wars figures…but i am happy to be done. The boys are starting to settle down, all and all it was a great christmas. iwill try and post some xmas pictures soon.

Now I am sitting with the three boys writing thank you notes. We went to walmart today and they got to pick their own cards they would send…Now this may seem like a daunting task, but i have a plan. I always have a plan. My plans do not always work but at least i have a plan right?

One at a time they are sitting at the desk with me, writing one card at a time. once they write one, they leave and the next brother comes and writes one. Ahhh, i thought this was going to be torture! but alas! we are almost done! yeah!! In the end they each will have written 11 cards each! I am so proud! It has made me sit here and write mine as well!

I love getting mail. not bills of course but mail. it is a lost art. So many people, email or text message. We are losing so much history by sending email (can you tell i was a history major?), there are no hard copies nothing. it just gets deleted. Maybe this year i will write more letters. I remember one year vowing to write 365 letters. I did it! phew it was tough and not a lot of people wrote back but it was fun. It is like a present in the mail. I am not sure i could write another 365 but i think i will try to write more. anyone want to be on my mailing list?

Christmas Eve

Well it is christmas eve here at this house.  Santa has a full moon tonight to guide himself down the chimney.  Three boys are in bed.  The twins want to sleep together and Jordan sleeps on the top bunk.  Every christmas eve each child is allowed to open one present.  The three boys opened pokeman cards.  The excitment!  I cannot wait for the morning. 

Before bed everyone gets “the rules”.  1. noone is allowed up until the sun comes up. 2. noone is allowed to go downstairs without an adult. 3. noone can wake up their brother.  3. If you find yourself awake before your brothers feel around to see if Santa came and left your stocking at the end of  your bed, open and play with it… now if  only they could remember the rules at 5 am ….. lets hope so as it makes for a very long day!!!

Now before going to bed i always tell the boys a story, it actually came from a LLT story i told.  I tell them how all year long the animals wait for christmas, because on christmas eve Santa will give them a present but we have to help…the present is they all get to talk with one another but the only way they can do it is if all the children are alseep.  So if they lay in bed really still, and really quiet they might be able to trick the animals in thinking they are asleep and then they can hear what they are talking about.  AHHH i am not sure how many more times i can use this story for them to go to bed…

Now i wait for those little ones to fall sound asleep… i can assemble the toys from Santa and I can finally go to bed! 

Merry Christmas!