Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Feelin' crafty
I've had a blank wall staring me in the face and today I saw something in a magazine that I thought would be perfect. I love how it turned out. It was fun to make and easy, too. It's pretty much a copy of what was in the magazine (except for the colors/name). I can't remember the name of the magazine and I'm too lazy to get up and get it. It was from last summer, though. It was some kind of home craft magazine. The frame and mat I've had for a while and right before we moved I spray painted the fram glossy black. The mat was a dark grey and I painted it with Kaiser Craft paints (again, too lazy to go look at the color name). I don't have a large circle punch, so I just traced a circle with a cup on the back of the paper and cut it out. I've got some plans for wall decor in the loft. I'm hoping to get to it tomorrow.
Monday, June 22, 2009
First day of summer vacation
My summer is off to a good start. The girls and I are going to do a little running program this summer. We started off today with 20 minutes (run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes). Easy-peasy. We all have 20 minutes to spare! Our plan is to do this for 2 weeks and then up the time to a total of 25 minutes. We will also increase our run time: maybe run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes). Hopefully, by the end of the summer we will be run/walking for about 40 minutes, 3x/week. I should have started this months ago so I'd be ready for swimsuit season. Oh well.
After our run, I had oatmeal and a plum for breakfast. I think I'm going to ride my bike to the grocery store in a little bit to pick up some things for lunch/dinner.
I'd like to get some scrapbooking done today. I also want to spend a little time poolside. However, before I do either of those things, I need to move the dog crate and vaccum, wash his bedding and scrub the carpet where he threw up in the corner of his crate yesterday. Yep! That's gonna be fun. Luckily dog barf is not nearly as gross as human barf. I must be a mom because I'm going straight from "gotta clean the vomit spot" to "what should we have for lunch?".
I'm thinking chicken salad sandwiches for lunch and Lauren wants pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. I might have to switch the chicken salad with something else so we aren't having so many sandwiches today.
I promised to post the recipe for Holy Cow Cake, so here it is:
Holy Cow Cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.
In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars into small chunks as opposed to crumbs - I like to have pieces I can chew on!)
Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!
This cake is absolutely delicious!
The chinese chicken salad is actually a kit from Costco. All you add is the lettuce (I like green leaf). It comes with crunchy wonton pieces, chow mein noodles, yummy chicken, dressing, almonds. You get enough to make two salads and I think it's about $8 (that's $4/salad). You could make it cheaper yourself, but I like having it ready to mix together. It's Sara's favorite salad.
The girls just cleaned up their room and Sara wants to show me, so I'm signing off. I hope you all are making some fun summer plans. And if they're cheap ones, do share!
After our run, I had oatmeal and a plum for breakfast. I think I'm going to ride my bike to the grocery store in a little bit to pick up some things for lunch/dinner.
I'd like to get some scrapbooking done today. I also want to spend a little time poolside. However, before I do either of those things, I need to move the dog crate and vaccum, wash his bedding and scrub the carpet where he threw up in the corner of his crate yesterday. Yep! That's gonna be fun. Luckily dog barf is not nearly as gross as human barf. I must be a mom because I'm going straight from "gotta clean the vomit spot" to "what should we have for lunch?".
I'm thinking chicken salad sandwiches for lunch and Lauren wants pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. I might have to switch the chicken salad with something else so we aren't having so many sandwiches today.
I promised to post the recipe for Holy Cow Cake, so here it is:
Holy Cow Cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.
In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars into small chunks as opposed to crumbs - I like to have pieces I can chew on!)
Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!
This cake is absolutely delicious!
The chinese chicken salad is actually a kit from Costco. All you add is the lettuce (I like green leaf). It comes with crunchy wonton pieces, chow mein noodles, yummy chicken, dressing, almonds. You get enough to make two salads and I think it's about $8 (that's $4/salad). You could make it cheaper yourself, but I like having it ready to mix together. It's Sara's favorite salad.
The girls just cleaned up their room and Sara wants to show me, so I'm signing off. I hope you all are making some fun summer plans. And if they're cheap ones, do share!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Eleven
Sara's birthday was yesterday. It was also the last day of school for her and I. She requested sushi, chinese chicken salad and potstickers for dinner. We added plums to the mix, too. Then we had Holy Cow Cake (if I feel energetic tomorrow, I'll post the recipe). Yum! She opened presents (clothes, books, movie tickets and money from Aunt Natalie). Today we picked up a couple of her friends and went to a salon where they got their finger and toe nails painted. Then we went to the home of a very creative lady in our ward who fixed their hair. We came home to a house totally decorated by Lauren and her friend Courtney (who happens to be the sister of one of the girls Sara invited). They did a fabulous job! I'll try and post pictures tomorrow. The older girls have played games, given facials, served food and been wonderful hostesses. They even took the girls across the street to play at the park for a while.
Happy 11th birthday Sara!!!!
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