Just When You Thought it Was Safe

What a trying week we have had.  I have wrestled with whether or not to post this and I am just going to do it.  Come what may.

On the 27th we found out that T. has been getting up in the middle of the night and playing World of Warcraft with a group in Australia.  Someone (or a couple someones) in a guild playing group convinced him to use Skype to communicate with them and since they play between 12 and about 5 a.m. he has been setting his phone alarm and getting up to play with them for the past few months. 

We keep the game on the desktop in the family room so there is no "private" playing and we allow only up to 2 hours (yes, I know that is a long time but his grades have been great and he has 'earned' extra time by doing chores or extra credit at school) each day.  He can't do chatting on the game so he found a way around it with the Skype texting - no fees for the service he was using.  

To make matters worse, he went into the Skype account and changed the profile from what we had set it when we were using Skype when Jim traveled.  He made himself 17.  Lovely.  So, he lied about his age and had a 20 yr old girl (or a 40 yr old guy as far as we know!) convinced they were in a relationship.  I discovered all of this because he fell asleep with his phone on and the last message from her/him was for him to wake up and play with her/him.  WHAT?  I read back through the exchanges getting physically ill at the progression of the dialogue from mild to rude and a bit crude. (mostly on the girl/guys part).  I wanted to go to Australia and find this person who was dragging my son into a pit!  I want to explain to this person that T. is still my little boy.  He is only 13.  I want my little boy to stay that way for a few more years.  I know he has to grow up but I want it to be a gospel based growth path and not a WoW based one.

For the past few months when he gets home from school he has been showering and falling into bed so I thought it was just a growth spurt.  Nope.  If you spend 4+ hours on the computer at midnight most nights then you are tired the next day.  I have caught him up at odd hours a few times over the past couple months but he had ready explanations - couldn't sleep, Connor grinding his teeth, just got up 10 minutes ago - so I sent him to bed each time and tucked him in.  As I looked back to when those happened and saw what he typed to this girl/guy I feel stupid that I didn't see what was really happening.  I felt we were doing a pretty good job at protecting our kids but this just proves to me that a predator will find a way to flatter a kid and make it seem like their idea and what a good idea it is.  Satan works on even the young.

As I examine what I could have done they only thing that comes to mind is not to have purchased WoW last Christmas for the boys.  C. never was that interested so he only spent enough time to figure out it was boring him but T. liked it and kept at it.  T. never seemed addicted or obsessed to a dangerous degree.  Yes, he could be fresh when he didn't want to get off but we chalked that up to being a teen.

We have cut off all electronics for T. and turned off the Internet at night and deleted Skype from everything.  Tomorrow I delete all the WoW files and cancel the subscription on-line. It may be a long time before I feel I can trust him with electronics.  I want him to feel that he can move on from this and be a kid with other interests and activities that take up his time in a positive way.  I want him to understand that he was a victim in this and that the person that took advantage of the situation is a predator in at least one way.

Whew.  That is about it.  I know there will be struggles and maybe more problems/fall-out from this but I am confident with prayer and fasting that we will get through this.  Love will conquer.

Let's Call it Quiche

I didn't have everything I needed to make a 'real' quiche so I threw this one together.  Once again my hesitant family - I mean kicking and screaming hesitant - enjoyed it.

Ham and Broccoli  Quiche

1 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup leeks, sliced thin
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Shredded potatoes
1 1/2 cups Swiss
Nutmeg
Double mustard
Salt

Set oven to 375'.  Spray 9" pie pan with Pam. Steam vegetables individually in microwave until about half cooked - 1 - 2 minutes each.  Line pan with shredded potatoes.  Whisk together eggs and milk season with a dash of nutmeg, double mustard and salt.  Stir in cheese. Fold in broccoli and leeks.  I put the ham in the pie pan and poured egg mixture over it.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for 30 - 35 minutes until firm.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

We found a nice grainy mustard and it was perfect.

Runsas

I found this recipe in a Cook's Country Heirloom recipe magazine.  It is close to the perogies that Jim had as a kid, made by his Polish grandmother.  I didn't change a lot.

Dough
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour
2 packages rapid rise or instant yeast (if you use regular yeast up the rise time to 1 1/2 hrs)
1 tsp salt

Filling
3 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon and 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 lbs 90% lean ground beef
1 cup purple onion, chopped fine
1/2 small head cabbage, chopped medium (about 3 cups)
Salt and pepper
8 slices American cheese

NOTE:  While eating the kids thought of other fillings they want to try:

Sausage with mozzarella
Pastrami with sauerkraut and Swiss
Beef with a light gravy and mushrooms
Shredded chicken with cheddar and steamed carrots/corn/peas
Pepperoni with mozzarella and a touch of pizza sauce

1. For the dough:  Mix water, condensed milk, oil, sugar and egg in a large measuring cup.  Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. (They used a stand mixer and I have to say it would have been nice with this recipe.)  Add the water mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined.  Add warm water as needed to make the dough come together but not sticky.  If you have a stand mixer mix for 4 to 6 minutes until dough is shiny and smooth.  If not, turn out on to a very lightly floured surface and need until you get the same results - about 10 minutes.  Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl covering in plastic wrap for about 1 hour until it has risen to double.

2.  For the filling:  Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet.  Add beef and cook until just brown breaking up large clumps.  (I seasoned mine lightly with garlic salt - I hate bland ground beef.)  Transfer beef using a slotted spoon (you need the oil left in pan) to a paper-towel lined plate.  Add 2 tablespoons butter only if there is not enough oil to cook the onions.  Add onions and saute until  softened - about 3 minutes.  Add cabbage and toss until it just begins to wilt - about 2 -4 minutes.  Return beef to pan and season with salt and pepper.

3.  Assemble and bake:  Turn oven to 350'.  Coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Cut your ball of dough into 8 equal portions on a lightly floured surface.  Roll each piece to an 8 - 9" circle (you want it to be thin but not to where it will break when filled) Place the dough circle in a large cereal bowl.  Place cheese on the bottom and spoon 3/4 cup of the filling on top.  Gather the edges together and pinch to seal (think Chinese steamed buns).  Turn the sealed edge to the bottom on the cookie sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes until they are puffed.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.  The recipe had you brushing the top with melted butter but we found that too heavy.

The dough is sweet and makes a very nice contrast to the savory filling.  The dough was super easy to work with an elastic so I didn't have any that broke or fell apart.  This makes 8 LARGE buns.  Jim had 1 1/2 but the rest of us had just one.  I served it with a nice balsamic salad.

I'm in the pink but seem a little green around the gills

Lauren and I did another 5k on Saturday.  It was very similar to the first one we did earlier this summer.    About every half mile we were pelted with colored cornstarch.  As you can see from the above photo I was hit by pink, green, orange, blue and purple.  The yellow ended up on my black pants.  I looked like a colorful bumblebee.

We had a great time with our friends; Robyn I'm-flinging-green Williams, Shannan You-will-not-catch-me Williams, Sean Is-there-more-color-in-that-bag Singh, Sunita I'm-workin'-the-hat Singh.  Great time.  The kids have already started to plan for the next mad dash!

For Brian's Birthday

                                                          Mom and Brian in the backyard, nice tree.

                                                                Dad and Brian - What's with that tree?

Since Brian's birthday is next week I thought I would find a shot or two of the handsome guy as a cute baby.  I remember Brian as a pretty easy baby.  He didn't cry a lot so when Mom had to go to church early one week and Dad was left to bring us and Dad forgot him it didn't surprise me a lot.  Brian was in the papoose basket with Sam, our faithful and fabulous dog, sitting with paws on either side as if to say, "You left this and it looked important so I'm lookin' after it.".  Brian also got left at a truck stop while we were on family vacation.  The discovery was made a state away.  He seemed perfectly happy to be there ... or be with Mom & Dad ... or whatever. 

Happy Birthday Little Bro!

Small Family

                                                         Hanna Clan - Near the beginning
                                                                 Dad, Mom, Brian
                                                          Sherri, David, Debbie, Marcy

This week I got back from the media transfer company a disc with family photos.  I have been having a lot of fun looking at pictures I've never seen and laughing at a lot of them. 

I like my very wierd expression in the shot above.  David was obviously distracted by life and thus not in the moment.  I LOVE Debbie's half smile - was she trying to only smile with half her face (which I had done a million times) or did she just have dental work (another serious possibility)?  And Marcy looking like she belongs in someone elses family. 

I am going to post a few here and there as I make more discoveries.  I am also going to copy the disc and pass them out as I get to it.  I figure we haven't seen them in this many years you can wait a few more weeks (months?).

Here's to the start of something fun.

Life Change

Yesterday something big happened.  It was one of those things that once said can't be taken back. I was hurt and angry when it happened.  I don't want to go into details but a relationship has been damaged. (NOTE: It's not Jim.)

Here are my questions:

1.  When you find out that things aren't what you believed to be but just about the polar opposite how do you respond to 'normal' activity thereafter?
2.  Do you try to forgive when they don't think they've done anything wrong?  Is character - true colors? - a forgivable thing or is it just something you have to learn to accept once you know it?
3.  As I look back on more than 20 years, do I need to examine each encounter or should I leave each as what I felt it was then?

For more than 20 years I believed that the relationship was one that was growing and being made stronger by both of us.  Trust has been slashed and stomped on.  I'm not sure about love: at very least it's not the love I thought.  I am feeling used and a little bit stupid.  

I like knowing where I stand with people - good or bad - so I can't put the appropriate level of trust into that relationship.  I don't know where that is right now.  I know how I want to feel about the relationship I want to have.  I now think I know what they want and it isn't where I want to go.

How do I resolve this in my heart?

SF Color Run!

                                                            Lauren in the Mosh-pit!

                                    From lower left: Robyn, Sanya, and Lauren in a purple haze

A couple of months ago Lauren begged me about doing a 5k.  She promised to train daily and to be cheerful.  She ran a couple of times with me but we had vacation, Lauren was gone for a week with a friend, then she was sick so I really thought she was going to have problems finishing a 3.1 miles.  The drive up was great, all three were giggly and excited.  It was cold up in SF just by the bay but there were so many people that were jumping around and throwing the colored cornstarch that we huddled in  the middle so we kept out of the wind.

We were in the second wave of 500 that went out on a very short circuit.  Every 1/2 mile there were cornstarch throwers covering us in a different colors.  The girls did great and walked about 1/3 of the track.  The finish was unspectacular but the after party was loud and fun.

We crowded up to the front because Sanya jumped the fence twice - with my urging - to go do dance contests.  She won one of them!  We were cheering her on very loudly!

Lauren has decided she wants to do another 5k like this one in September.  I like that maybe (MAYBE) I will have someone to run with.  :-)

Back to the Future

                                    Playing garage tag while raining the kids found this DeLorean

It's been a tough week and I am hoping that I can go back to the future and tell myself a few things.

1) Don't worry so much.  It will turn out fine.  You can't change what has already happened and thinking about it will cause more anxiety.
2) Stop obsessively cleaning when you are anxious.  If you keep scrubbing that floor/door/counter it will eventually disappear which will cause another problem.
3) Your children will turn out fine.  They don't have to be rocket scientists or designers or soccer stars.  They need to make their own decisions and realize those consequences.
4) Love the moment.  Or even like it or enjoy it.  Make the best of the situation. Smile more.
5) You can't change your genes so do the best you can (all you can?) and carry on.

So, as you can see I have a few hundred-thousand personal issue things to work on.  Time to make a list and get moving.

Cool Vacation

Outside Hogsmeade

Our Florida vacation was wet.  We discovered:

1.  Ponchos ARE necessary during tropical depressions

2.  Amusement Parks deserted during rain storms

3.  Walking around with squishy sandals for hours sucks

4.  70% humidity means that my hair looks like a bob

5.  Swimming until the hotel kicks you out at 10 is awesome

6.  You never fully dry out when it rains constantly

As you can see from this list much of our vacation revolved around water.  Don't get me wrong, the vacation was fun.  Seeing the Dellers was great.  Getting to run on rides over and over again was a lot of fun.  We were really blessed not to have it be incredibly hot every day and have to deal with sunburns.  Instead we were dealing with rotating shoes so feet didn't get moldy. 

Things we wouldn't have missed:

1.  Hogsmeade was fabulous!

2.  Butterbeer was interesting not great

3.  I still can't do rides (tried the HP - no good)

4.  Jim loves Universals turkey legs

5.  Warm rain is no damper for us (Oregon stock :-)

6.  We need to see family more

Thanks Florida.  We may not be back soon - it took me 40 years - but we had fun!

Braised Beef with veggies

4- 6 beef shanks cross cut
1 cup flour
salt and pepper
olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion (I like purple) diced
2 carrots scrubbed and diced
Zest of one lemon peeled with a vegetable peeler (wide and long pieces)
5 cloves of garlic peeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped coarse
1 cup apple juice
2 cups beef broth
5 Yukon potatoes cubed

Preheat oven to 375'.  Heat 3 count of olive oil in large oven proof heavy pot. Salt and pepper beef shanks.  Dredge beef shanks in flour and place in large pot.  Brown beef until well seared on the outside, about 5 - 7 minutes each side.  Remove beef to plate.

(NOTE:  I cut up the vegetables, lemon, garlic and parsley and placed them all in a bowl before I started the beef.)  Place butter in pot and melt.  Add the onion, carrots, lemon peel, smashed garlic, bay leaves and parsley.  Stir constantly until garlic is golden brown.  Salt and pepper veggies to taste.  Add apple juice, beef broth and stir to combine.

Add the beef shank back into the pot and cover with a tight lid.  Place pot in oven for 1 1/2 hours.  Add potatoes and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

NOTE:  I will make this before church and set the delay start on the oven so I just have to add the potatoes - that I have cut up before church - and savor the incredibly tender beef with rich beef 'gravy'.

Campenelle Pasta Salad

Campanelle with toasted garlic and sausage

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large garlic cloves - sliced very thin
   coarse salt and pepper
1 pound campanelle pasta
1/2 cup mild sausage cooked almost crispy - drain well!
1 cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley - chopped coarse
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup shaved parmesan

Toast the garlic in a frying pan until golden brown about 2 minutes.  Once toasted place garlic on paper towel and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Cook pasta according to the directions.  Rinse immediately in cold water until pasta is just barely warm.  Add all the other ingredients and season with pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread.

This is such a nice light pasta salad.  My family LOVED this!

Deep Breath...in ... out ... repeat

It has been a whole month since I posted last.  My bad.  I was too busy for words from the last post until the end of school on June 7th. (that takes of three weeks) I won't even go into all the stuff I had to do but it was a lot - Debbie can attest to this - AND my car died a horrible sad death (sniff).

And last week?  Well, I just needed a break from any and everything.  Not that I didn't do stuff last week, ... let's see made 320 pieces of candy with the YW, shopped for said candy making event, made 7 dozen seminary cupcakes, prepared my GD and  Sunbeam lessons, shopped for shorts for Connor, found soccer and volleyball camps for two kids, deep cleaned my room (dust bunnies on carpet are weird), shopped for my FIL birthday (85!), shopped for Jim for FD (intake manifold somethingorruther) and kept my kids from killing each other.  Oh, and I went to a liturgy: I nearly passed out from the incense.

So, I'm back in the groove.  I am thinking that next week will be easier or harder (let's make this difficult shall we?) since we will be on vacation.  Pics will be coming!

Cute Dress

I was trying to e-mail this to myself since the website won't let me Pin the pic.  The e-mail didn't work so now I am blogging about it so you can comment on it...

Sateen Sheath with Grosgrain Bow

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

I found a recipe for quick crescent roll cinnamon rolls.  I tried it didn't love it so I mixed it up and made it better.  This is much more healthy (relatively speaking) than the first recipe. (From Brown Eyed Baker)

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - chill until use
1 stick butter - divided - 1/2 melted, 1/2 softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze

2 tablespoons butter melted
4 tablespoons heavy cream OR 3 tablespoons milk + 1 tablespoon melted butter (room temp)
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350'.  Melt 1/2 stick butter in a 9 x 13 glass pan - I did it in the microwave.  Spread it around so it covers the bottom of the pan. Roll out crescent rolls and pinch seams (hard!) to seal them.  Spread a thin layer of the 1/2 cube softened butter on both rectangles.  Combine brown sugar, sugar and cinnamon.  Spoon half on to each crescent rectangle.  Roll up carefully - mine came apart at the middle seam but I just kept rolling.  Cut each rolled up piece into 7 or 8 pieces.  Space evenly in 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 20-22 minutes until the tops are nicely browned.  Let them cool for about 5 minutes and then drizzle glaze over them.  Serve warm.  They are actually pretty good at room temp too.

Lemon Lamb

I know there are those of you who don't eat lamb. I do. I love lamb. I have been craving lamb. I read about 30 recipes recently and came up with my own:

Lemon Lamb

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 cloves of garlic minced fine
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 lamb chops or small steaks

Combine all ingredients but the lamb in a small bowl. Pour into a ziplock bag that is big enough to hold the lamb. Add lamb, close bag, rub the marinade all over the lamb. Put in fridge for 2+ hours turning and rubbing a few times.

Heat grill to medium high. Grill lamb for about 7 - 11 minutes each side - this will depend on how well done you like your meat. Serve over lemon zested basmati rice. (basmati rice with the lemon pulp strewn in before cooking)

Caramels

I tried my hand at Sea Salt & Pink Peppercorn Caramels this week.

While the recipe was easy it was time consuming to cook. May I suggest a nice long call to a beloved sister.

1 cup butter

1 16 oz package brown sugar (2 1/4 cups)

2 cups half-and-half or light cream

1 cup light colored corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp flaked sea salt

1/2 tsp pink peppercorns

Line an 9x9x2 with foil. Butter foil. Set aside

In a 3 quart heavy saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, half-and-half, and corn syrup, mix thoroughly. Cook over medium/high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium. Continue to boil mixture (moderate, steady rate) stirring frequently until thermometer registers 248' (firm ball stage) about 40 to 50 minutes. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a steady boil.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in vanilla. Quickly pour mixture in pan. Cool 15 minutes. Sprinkle on salt and pepper. (I didn't love the pepper so I would leave it off next time.)

When firm lift candy out of pan by foil. Use a buttered knife to cut into 1" squares. Wrap each piece in wax paper or plastic wrap. Store in cool place up to 2 weeks.

Salt and pink peppercorns do not photograph well.

Orange Chicken

A little Chinese tonight... via the crockpot

Orange Chicken (amended from Six Sisters recipe)

4 boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2" strips

1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt (I put in white pepper as well.)

4 tbls Olive oil plus more if necessary to brown chicken

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate

3 tbls brown sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3 tsp ketchup

Green onions chopped (garnish)

Cut up chicken and dredge in flour. Heat a medium frying pan to medium/hot. Brown chicken on both sides but don't cook through. Mix; oj, brown sugar, vinegar and ketchup in a bowl. Place chicken in crockpot. Pour mixture over top and stir gently. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Serve over steamed rice.

It is very orangy and tangy. If you don't want it as such just cut down on the oj by 2 oz and add 2 oz of water.

The needs of the one...

I found a great cabinet last week on Craigslist for $79. I don't love the top though. I don't hate it but I was thinking since I am getting so proficient at refinishing I could refinish the top of this pretty easily. I found a nice man at Southern Lumber that was willing to walk me through the steps - caution on the get-the-top-straight-the-first-time step - and then left me to look at about 20 different veneers. The veneers are unfinished so I can stain it whatever color my heart desires. I saw this Birds-eye Maple (see above sample that isn't half as fabulous as the piece I saw) that I was drooling over. Then I pulled out the roll to look at the cost. $243 for a 24"x 48" piece. Are you kidding? My heart sank. My dreams rolled away towards the horizon. The idyllic state of my bliss was smashed like a mobile home in a twister. It's wrong. I know. But I think I am coveting a small piece of wood right now.

Monday, Monday can't stand that day

Overly complicated lever
1. Extra Dark this morning while running. Almost tripped on log in road. Okay, it may have been a branch but it was big.

2. Car wouldn't start for Jim. That means I traded him for the day.

3. Called AAA to jump car. Not the problem. Had to tow it to get it serviced.

4. Called dealership to set appointment. Nothing available until 4 pm. Ugh.

5. Called in-laws to ask to borrow my FIL's car since he isn't driving. Felt like I was 17 again. Not in a good way.

6. MIL picked me up and almost killed us on the drive to get FIL's car. No exaggeration.

7. Spent 2 hours at in-laws house doing "little things"... help!

8. Dealership called. Car started right up for them BUT they are going to keep it until it does it again... are we talking a day? A week? What?

9. Allergies kicked in today. Felt congested and like my eyes were going to pop out all day.

Can I be done now?

Fabulous Find!

I have been searching literally for years for a smallish piece for our long downstairs bathroom. I always thought I was looking for an upright cabinet that had lots of glass, was white or chrome.

I found this piece on Craigslist last week and hemmed and hawed about it. I just wasn't sure, the photo was dark it looked dirty...

I went over to the woman's house - she's 94 and finally moving in with a family member - and saw this darling cabinet. She bought it in the '60's and used it as a liquor cabinet. It was only $79 and is really a sturdy piece. I think I'll love it for the next 50 years.... What do you think?

Pork & Sausage Ragu

Disclaimer: Not my photo but it's close

I was flipping through a William-Sonoma magazine a few days ago and saw a recipe for a very fancy Pork Loin and Italian Sausage Ragu using a ragu sauce they were marketing. It was expensive! I glanced (literally) at the general ingredients in a few recipes I found on-line. The funny thing was that I had just purchase the pork loin but I had everything else on hand. Here is my simpler but still very tasty version:

1 3-lb pork loin roast trimmed (remove netting)

4 Italian sausages

2 cups beef stock

1 1/2 cups white grape juice (don't use apple juice it's a little too sweet for this)

1 cup tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 Tbl Italian seasoning

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Wide Egg Noodles

In a large skillet brown the pork loin, remove and brown sausages (you can skip this if you don't care that the meat looks anemic until near the end of cooking) sprinkle with the garlic salt and pepper. If you are skipping this step then place roast and sausages in a large crock pot. Pour stock and grape juice over meat. Season with garlic salt and pepper rotating once. Put in tomato paste and stir until combined - it won't be perfect. Add bay leaf and Italian seasoning. Turn crock pot on to high for six hours. At about hour 5 check that the pork loin is falling apart and taste sauce. Adjust seasonings here. About 20 minutes before serving cook wide egg noodles according to the package directions. While noodles are cooking take sausages out and cut them into bite size pieces, return to crock pot. I took two forks and separated the pork loin into chunks. Drain noodles. Place noodles on plate and top with ragu. Serve with a nice salad with balsamic dressing and sour dough bread. Delicious!

FHE Chart Art

I made a new FHE chart last week. My old chart was poster board and looked, well, old. It had been through several grubby hands helping change the tags to their new assignment for the week.

I found these great 11 x 14 wall stickers at Michaels. On sale. Score! I had to wait three weeks to get all three frames on sale but it was worth it.

I used stickers on the front of the glass and a dry erase pen to write in the assignments. Nice.

Is Baiting Wrong? Or Teenagers Can't Be Trusted.

Lego Policeman - Guard Duty in the Teenagers Room

Today my husband gets serious points for good (sneaky) parenting. Last night when I went to bed I had Tylor log off and put away his electronics - he had the laptop, his phone and his iPad in bed with him...why? I have no clue. When Jim picked up Connor from the dance he came home and immediately had to post on Facebook about the dance. Jim started to go to bed at midnight. He told them to get off and then came to bed. At 12:30 Jim got up again and caught the boys on their electronics - Tylor was down to just two - and told them to go to sleep. Then at 1:30 Jim went in, flipped on the light caught them redhanded (again) - Tylor was down to one - and took everything away and brought it in our room (waking me up in the process).

This morning Jim very nearly jumped out of bed at 9 and went in and woke up the boys. He was a little too enthusiastic and they looked like they had had a bender and were a bit headachy. Aw, poor kids.

I just have to giggle as they are groggily stumbling around the house this morning. Jim really did let them hang themselves and now they are paying for it. Their combined excuse this morning to going back on is that they thought their dad had gone to bed. Makes me smile. Really? That's your best shot?

Patience / Positive

I liked Suzanne's query into our one word for the year. I used two. I just don't think one is enough for me. I want more! Or maybe I'm just an over achiever and need something else in my life to work on. Yeah, that's it, more work.

I need more patience with things that I can't change, that stress me out and I just need to take a really big breath. AND... Let. It. Go. This may need a lot of practice on my part so please be patient with me. ;-)

Being positive has been hard this last year. There have been a lot of changes and many things (no, I didn't grow a mustache (not yet anyway) and my princess-hood is on hold) - and one big one - that drag me down. I know what I need to do and I have my sisters in my corner. Of that I can be positive!

Soap Box Rant

Idiot Appraisers or Why HVCC is worthless

The last two weeks I have had to deal with an appraisal problem that has really brought the problem with real estate to new heights with me. In 2009 there was a new law put in effect that makes it illegal for me to contact an appraiser. It's more complicated than that but that is the basic result. I had an appraisal completed and it came in ridiculously low. I appealed and provided new comparables. It was rejected yesterday basically because the appraiser doesn't have make changes if he uses comparables within the law.

Now here is my problem. Because the appraiser has already been paid, is not contactable (it can be harassment if I do it to influence the value), and has no interest in the results he is done. We should all be concerned with this type of appraiser. Since he did a slipshod job he has contributed to the current economic conditions staying low. How so you ask? By keeping property values lower than comparables say it should be there are fewer home owners who have the ability to refinance to take advantage of these historically low rates. Keeping the homeowners in higher rate loans restricts their cash flow which in turn effects the economy by having those same consumers unable to spend money that they are still having to use for their higher interest mortgage payment. So, the conclusion here? Appraisers need to keep to the one of the real estate use mottoes, "Highest and Best Use Always".

Two Teens & a Tween

It was Tylor's 13th birthday this week. Thirteen is an odd age; you can't go to dances or Primary activities, you can't date - or more likely you don't even like girls, you can't drive, you aren't top dog at school. Tylor has been trying on his "teen attitude" lately with, "Whatev's." and plenty of "Well, why not?" or "I do it all the time.". Uh-huh. If I hear it one more time I'm thinking it's going to be "Whatev's." for him.... Here's to hoping he makes it to 14.

Dining Room Art

For Christmas I might have picked out my own gifts. Maybe. Okay, well, I did. I wanted art for the dining room and found some that I liked and were fun. They lightened up the possible formal feel.

I really wanted one more but the others had weird sayings on them.

Now I will have to make an FHE chart in the same style. Any suggestions?

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

and sometimes you don't! A friend and I made Mounds a couple of weeks ago but they didn't turn out great. I brought mine home and Jim really liked them but the kids said, "Meh.". Well, I decided I would try to make them better. I read up on about 15 blogs, 30 recipes and picked out what I thought would work better and came up with these. They are a little less sweet and stick together really well.


Homemade Mounds or Almond Joys

1 package sweetened coconut flakes
3/4 of a bag of powdered sugar
3/4 cup mashed potatoes (make the instant as directed)
2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons shortening (NOT oil!)

For Almond Joys: toast about 45 whole raw almonds in the oven at 400' for 10 minutes
1 package milk chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons shortening


Fill a double boiler as directed and place powdered sugar and butter over boiling water. Stir constantly until a thick liquid. Stir in mashed potatoes until smooth. Add the coconut flakes and stir for about 3 minutes. Take off stove and place in freezer for 30 minutes stirring half way through.

Spread out 1/4 of the coconut mixture on a wax paper sheet. Put the rest in the refriderator. Flatten mixture to about 1/2" high and cut with a very sharp knife so the pieces are about 3/4" wide by 1" long. I wanted something that was 2 bites. (If you are making Almond Joys press toasted nuts into the top now.) Place these on a baking sheet on wax paper. Repeat until done with coconut mixture. Place molded pieces back in the freezer for 30 minutes.

About 5 minutes before you take the molded pieces out of the freezer boil water in the double boiler and melt appropriate type of chocolate and shortening for dipping.

Working quickly dip each molded piece in the chocolate. (Note: I used two forks and would dip, tap off excess, drag back of fork over edge and replace on the wax paper.) Once completely done it will take about an hour for the chocolate to be set. These will last nicely for about 4 days and, if you are desperate, for about a week.

The recipes that call for sweetened condensed milk are too sweet and mushy. I like this one because they don't fall apart due to the starch in the potatoes and the potatoes cut the sweetness just enough to make me want to eat more than one at a time.