It's the End of the Year as we know it

 "And I feel fine!"

After moving to Seattle in a crazy, spontaneous whirlwind in October, and staying with relatives for 2 months, we FINALLY got our own place!!
So for the past 3 days we've been moving and/or without internet so I had some re-posts about our trip to Florida a year ago. Hope you enjoyed them :)
anyway......

We are INCREDIBLY grateful to our hosts and know that their generosity for the past 2 months went above and beyond. 

This Wednesday morning I woke up in our new place and before I even opened my eyes I had the following song in my head:

   Listen to Buddy the Elf "I'm singing"     from Will Ferrell

I started giggling to myself and got up to go say goodbye to Bruce before he left for work.
I told him about my semi-conscious expression of happiness and if I wanted, I could now get up early and sing aloud. It was before 6 am and the Princess was still asleep, so I couldn't really sing loud and clear for all to hear. He he had to shoosh me before I regaled him with the whole song.
Our conversation VERY MUCH resembled the clip from Elf. It was epic.

So, now that we're 80% moved in (stll some furniture and decor to get), Trinity and I have been having some fun baking sessions.

For her: The Easy Bake double decker yellow cake with chocolate frosting for Daddy. He, of course, let her have the first bite, and then she asked for another fork so Daddy could have some, too.

For me, I wanted to use some leftover Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. I made some raw cookie dough truffles right before Christmas, but didn't use all the mix. So, I thought of a gluten/dairy/egg free cookie dough pancake!

Yes. A Cookie Dough Pancake.

The star players.

Mix it up with some non-dairy milk (or even water) and baking powder. 

The gratuitous pour shot:

Almost done!

Final Product:

So, yeah, we've been breakin' in the kitchen pretty thoroughly thanks to all our new dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, etc from our family. Thanks you guys!!

RECIPE : for one large pancake

*1/4 cup Gluten Free all purpose flour

*1 1/2 Tbsp flaxmeal

*2 Tbsp Gluten Free cookie dough mix

*1/8 tsp baking powder

*1/4-1/3 cup non-dairy milk or water

*mix thoroughly and make your pancake. top with your favorite pancake topping :)

Enjoy.
Thank you Lord for another year to praise You and love You here on this earth :)

Many Milestones-Day 3

DAY 3 OF THE REPOST SERIES-"One year ago today"

DAY 3 and it finally hit the 60 degree mark-66 to be specific :) Not tropical by any means, but a good 50 degrees warmer than back home!

We started the day off with a short excursion around the yard to inspect the spanish moss,grapefruit tree, and orange trees.

The grapefruits were incredible..... the best I've ever eaten-no sugar needed AT ALL.

Thanks Dan!
Then, we headed west to the Gulf of Mexico and collected many seashells.
I wore my Wisconsin Badger clothes today, since they ARE in Orlando! I don't think that's what helped them win or anything....I'm just sayin'.... ;)
The end of our trip to the Gulf resulted in another sleepy stinker :)

The sun felt great today and it's hopeful that the temps will get into the 70s on Wednesday for our trip to the Magic Kingdom.

It's just not the same without Bruce and we wish he was here!!!

Still "trippin"-Day 2

Day 2 of the repost series "A year ago today"
(We're in the process of moving)

The end of day one of our adventure brought us through Kentucky and into Tennesee, where we spent the night.

The morning of day 2 we packed up and headed out.

Rise and shine, it's daylight in the swamp!

My dad used to serenade me with that little diddy :)

This is one tired little stinker.

It was quite exciting to encounter this sign as we were passing through Nashville!
After a long and uneventful drive through Georgia, we finally made it to Florida!
We stopped at the first welcome center we came to.

Grandpa and Trinity having some fresh florida orange juice :)

We made it to the home of our hosts late in the evening. What a cool surprise that their grandson is staying here, too.

Trinity will actually have someone to play with!

Tomorrow is unplanned so far, but I'm sure we'll come up with something fun :)

I'm pretty sure the "big" Disney day is gonna be Wednesday....tee hee! I can't wait!

Music Monday

This video clip combines two things I love. 

Otis Redding music and 80s movies.

I think I have more Otis Redding on my Ipod than any other artist besides U2.

It might have something to do with the fact that Otis kinda reminds me of my grandpa and his music is incredible.

DAY 1-it has truly been a TRIP (from 2009)

This is gonna be a busy week with moving into our OWN PLACE and all!! Since moving to Seattle we've been staying with family and now it's time to set up in the new casa :) For a few days we will be without a computer, so I'm gonna do some reposts.
First up-One year ago today:

My Daddy-o, Trinity, and I are all on vacay until next year....so, he invited us to go to Florida with him.

Why Florida? There's no snow, it's at least in the 60s, he has friends we can stay with, and Disney World is there!! :)

It seems like 90% of the time, any trip we take requires us to travel the entire length of the state of Illinois.

Yuck.

No offense to those who live there, but it is a long, boring, and all too often challenging drive.

This time was no exception.

The above scene was repeated MANY times over, and we counted a total of 24 vehicles that wrecked. The drive was a white-knuckler, and I think God heard lots of prayers today for "travelling mercies" from those on this stretch of road.

There were several highlights of the trip, first of which, was getting through the 415 mile long storm. THANKS to both my Heavenly Father and my earthly Daddy-O.
Second, was jamming out to "I Gotta Feelin'" with Trinity.
We danced our booties off (as much as you can in a car), and even worked up a sweat!
Third, was having to call 911 to report an erratic and dangerous driver who nearly put herself and others in the snowy ditch SEVERAL times. That was scary to watch.
We were finally able to reach the end Illinois and celebrate our survival through the nastiness, with a visit to Metropolis to see Superman!

Trinity sure looks alot like Wonder Woman in this picture, doesn't she? ;)

Here's a sign on the door of the men's restroom at a gas station in Metropolis.

This was where we Wonder Women relieved ourselves.

After Illinois we briefly traveled through Kentucky. Not much to report about Kentucky except I liked it. Why? It's not Illinois!! ;)

We really wanted Bruce to come with, but he had to work. And as he stated, he'd "like to remain gainfully employed."

Good choice, Hon, but we miss you terribly!

We are resting overnight, right outside Nashville, Tennessee and will head out to the sunshine state early in the a.m.

Stay tuned for day 2 of our "TRIP".

Jesus is My Homeboy :)

Homeboy (from urbandictionary.com): The epitome of a friend. Somebody you kick it with. A person who always has your back. 

You know what I LOVE about Jesus?

I mean there are millions of things, but recently I've been thinking alot about a specific thing.

I LOVE that He had no care or concern of His status, prestige, social class, intellect, reputation,education-level, or money.

He just did what the Father called Him to do, regardless of the consequences and what people thought of Him.

He knew that it was FAR more important to care about pleasing God, than man(kind).

He knew that healthy relationships, forgiveness, peace, mercy, love, and contentment in your heart outweigh ANY achievement this temporal world has to offer. Yeah, those aforementioned things can be nice and beneficial, but
they are NOT imperative to having a happy, content, and meaningful life.

Thank You, Lord for being born a humble baby, coming into this sin-laden world, and showing us in a tangible way what TRULY matters!!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Traditions

I'm not real big on tradition JUST for the sake of tradition, but when there is special personal meaning behind it, I'm ALL for it.

When I was little my dad had a girlfriend, Elaine, who would read bits of Pippi Longstocking to me at night until I fell asleep. I flippin' LOVED that book! We had library day at school once a week and I remember my scribbly little signature in the back of the book was there about 20 times. I checked it out as often as I could.

Cover art on the book from my childhood

Well, now that my Princess is such an incredible reader I wanted to get a list of classic books for she and I to start reading together. First on that is list Pippi Longstocking!

She and I headed to the library yesterday and picked it up :)

I was only praying she wouldn't hate it. Turns out, she loves it! Yay!

Other age-appropriate books on the list are:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Charlotte's Web

The Wizard of Oz

Ramona the Pest

The Secret Garden

While at my second home the library, I also picked up this inspiring cookbook

I have a goal for the year 2011, to learn to cook actual meals. I mean, yeah, I can cook tacos, burritos, spagetti, etc. But, I'm more of a snacker and a grazer and have always procrastinated learning to cook new things. Baking-any time. Any day. Cooking meals: blech. Also, I want to branch out and get even more veggies and beans into the tummies of my family members

I have several more cookbooks on hold. Including:

 

So, family I hope your ready to have your tastebuds challenged and rocked! Don't worry, we'll still have some old faves on the menu, but hey it's gonna be 2011:  new city, new jobs, new school, new foods!

With all this newness, we're still gonna hang on to our comforting traditions.

What were your favorite books growing up?

Try any new type of cuisine lately?

Music Monday!

 I just love how this song express a newness of life and redemption when turning from selfish and destructive ways and choosing to walk the straight and narrow.

The fact that two uber talented performers sing it doesn't hurt, either.

I'm over there!

Hey people.

Once you get involved in this fun blogger world/community, you "meet" all sorts of interesting people.

One VERY interesting person I've "met" is Katie at "Making Food and Other Stuff". I first found her blog when I was looking online how to make cookies out of beets.

Yeah. I know. I'm not normal.

But, guess what. SHE had a recipe!

I have been reading her blog ever since.

She likes to do themes and have series on her blog, and her latest series involves guest posts from her fellow blogger friends.

I'm over there today. So, head over and check out her blog. You will NOT be disappointed in what you find over there. She's so creative, smart, sassy, AND also originally from Wisconsin. What more could you ask for?
To thank Katie for letting me guest post, I made one of her latest recipes yesterday:
(click on the title of the treat for the recipe)

Gluten Free Raw Cookie Dough Truffles:

1-Just add margarine to the dough (enough for it to stick together)

2-roll into balls

3-freeze for at least 30 minutes

4-melt chocolate

5-cover the balls in melted chocolate

6-refrigerate at least 20 minutes.

I had a little leftover chocolate, so that weird lookin' beast in the upper right hand area of the plate is a potato chip. Yes. A potato chip. You're welcome.

Quotes

My family has some pretty epic quotes. I wish I would have written more of them down as I don't have as great a memory as my blogger pal 'Drea.

But, it's been a while since I've shared any quotes with you, so buckle up.

TYLER: "One day Trinity's gonna have a boyfriend. And that means I'm gonna have to kick him in the crotch."

Easter 2009

Me and Ty in 2005

BRUCE: "I just got back from Trader Joe's. Man, there are a lot of food nerds there. I hope I don't catch any of their food allergy germs."

Clearly we're normal

 Trinity: "Being with you makes me feel good and happy."

I love my family :)

Just Because

I know this is like 3 years old, but I still love it and forgot about it until recently. I wonder where this girl is now.

EIGHT dollar outfit

I picked up a few new things this past weekend again Value Village.

The jeans are GAP brand and the shirt is ummm...let me check..... KATIE!! I have a THREADLESS brand shirt, too, and I didn't even know it! . Anyway, the shirt I got back in Wisco at a thrift store there.

Yeah....it was 58 degrees and actually sunny out when this was taken yesterday. Wisconsin, I'm sorry, but I do not miss your December weather!
(P.S. don't mind the fact i had yet to brush my hair at 10 am)

Closeup of the shirt

Any good frugal finds for you lately?

Music Monday

 I'm a big fan of quirky off-beat female singers with an unusual voice and unique perspective in music....and you know who fits that description beautifully?

Icelandic Native:

 Miss Björk Guðmundsdóttir.(I may or may not have worn my hair like this on occasion in college)

1 injury, 2 jobs and a 3 ingredient recipe

Compared to last week this one was pretty monumental, actually.

Monday morning started off with Bruce and I both going to our new jobs! I'm nannying again, and really enjoying it. Oh my. You should see this baby.....makes my ovaries ache ;) So stinkin' precious.

Bruce is back to his C.N.A. work, although it's called something else here in Washington. I forget.

That evening was quite significant.

This widely known controller for the Nintendo Wii, seems innocent enough. Well, Monday night it became a blood-drawing, gash inducing weapon.

I came up behind the Princess to give her a kiss on top of her head, as she was sitting on the couch playing her Pokepark game.

The two critical mistakes are as follows:

1-She didn't notice I was there.

2-I didn't notice she was just starting the part in the game where you shake the controller up and down as vigorously as possible to make the character run.

So, as I was leaning down, with all the force and enthusiasm in a 7 year old's body, she forced the controller upwards DIRECTLY INTO MY NOSE between my eyes.

Yeah. Imagine that sound. Imagine that gash. Imagine the blood streaming down my face. Imagine me scared to remove my hand from my face. 

Stitch or two needed? Not necessarily. Wouldn't have hurt though.

I immediately put ice on it to reduce the inevitable swelling, but feared what kind of bruising I would encounter the next morning. Not much thank goodness.

Wednesday I got to go to the DMV and get my new Washington State license-woo hoo!

Now, my swollen gashed nose is immortalized. Yay! Honestly, you can't really see the gash at all. 

The guy at the DMV was super nice and chatty, and said I was the 5th person from Wisconsin in there that day.

Weird. Especially when you consider there are at least 7 DMV places in the city of Seattle. That's a high concentration of Wisconsinites!

 This morning I FINALLY got around to making a soup/stew/chili that I've been wanting to make forevah. It's so easy, so simple, and SOOOOOO good! I channeled my fellow Wisconsin-college attender Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade skillz for this one.

3 ingredients. Black beans, cashew carrot ginger soup, and a sweet potato.

 In case you can't read the ingredients: filtered water, carrots, coconut, evaporated cane juice, ginger pulp, rice starch, cashews, sea salt, roasted garlic, onion powder, spices, paprike, oleoresin (color).

 So, technically it's more than 3 ingredients, but you'll only need 3 items to assemble this wonder-stew! 

I was a bit skeptical of the cashew carrot ginger soup, but it is probably the best soup I've ever had. Ever. It's that good.

 Roast or bake the sweet potato, chop into cubes and add to pot of beans and soup.

simmering in the pot

ready for consumption. you could even add a  shake or two of cayenne pepper for extra kick.

 This stew is amazing, I have to say. It's the cashew carrot ginger soup that holds it all together and gives it a "layered" and complex taste. I highly recommend it!

I also picked up a copy of my favorite magazine this week. I generally try not to buy magazines, because I'm frugal like that. I used to be able to borrow them from the library in Wisconsin, but the library here doesn't allow that :(

This magazine is so worth the $ though. 

I'll leave you with three recommendations for the weekend. 

1-If someone is playing a Wii game when you walk into the room, make loud noises to let them know you are there!

2-Make the black bean, sweet potato, cashew carrot ginger stew.

3-If you've never read Clean Eating magazine and you like simple, good, hearty food and easy to follow recipes-pick it up.
What's your favorite foodie magazine??

 HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Music Monday

 Whoa, it's been almost a week since I posted? It doesn't seem like that long at all. Anyway, not much to post about it seems. My mind has been chewing on the information I've been reading in the book Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson. I always knew how important it was to instill a sense of self-esteem in our daughters and how an involved and loving father figure was a HUGE component in doing so. But, this book drives that fact home so clearly and poignantly. I will be doing a post about it soon.......but I might not have as much time as I usually do since I GOT A JOB!!!

Tying into the theme of girls and self worth is this song by Johnny Diaz.  I've posted it before, but it has such an awesome message that it can't be meditated on enough.