If There Is One Thing

If there is one thing this girl can do...you know besides write really long sentences featuring emoticons...

This girl can cook!

There I said it.  And I will just pat myself on the back, thankyouverymuch.  When I first started this blog of mine I didn't intend to blog so much about food.  But it is a blog that encompasses major areas of my life and food (good food) just happens to be one of those areas.

Tonight I tried my hand at making Indian food for the first time.  In all my years of cooking, and there have been many, I have never tried making Indian food.  And I've been cooking since I was ten.  The biggest reason for this is that I never knew if I liked Indian food.  I actually haven't tried anything Indianish except for the Curry Chicken Salad at Whole Food's and I'm not really sure if that counts.  Well for Father's Day this year we tried a local Indian place with a couple of friends and it turns out I loved it.

So the next step for me would be to make it at home.

I found this recipe over at The Pioneer Woman for Tikka Masala.  My first hurdle was finding Garam Masala.  The local mega mart did not have a very large Indian section which was sad.  So I turned to the trusty internets and ordered some off of Amazon.  Then while shopping at another store I found some and bought that.  When I got home I compared the two only to find that they were completely different.  One was more of a sweet and the other a savory.  One's main ingredient was nutmeg and the other's was coriander.  So in a moment of indecision, I used both.  I did add another tablespoon of the mix since it didn't seem seasoned enough for me.

The recipe was really easy and basically if you can make chili, you can make this dish.

Don't tell Hubby it was Whole Wheat Naan.  Shhh

I served it with some Naan bread and some rice from the freezer section.  I was too busy working on the sauce and grilling the chicken to focus on the rice so I used some Trader Joe's.

Watching Hubby's reaction was priceless.  It was the first time in a long while that I was able to surprise him and he told me so.  He said it was amazing and he couldn't believe that I made it after only having it one time.

I told him that if there is one thing this girl can do...

Super Sprinkler

Pvc Pipe

It started with this idea from Family Fun Magazine, some stuff from the hardware store and a warm evening.

We took the idea and turned it into our own mini splash zone.  We talked about our design and went to the hardware store with a rough idea of what we wanted.  Then we spread out on the lawn and got to work.

We bought some precut PVC pipe at $1.24 a piece.  If you cut your own this will cut the price down and you can create your own custom pieces.  We bought 3/4 inch pipes, corner connectors, T connecters, some end caps, a hose connector and some clear tubing to watch the water go through.  My only tip is to pay attention to your width of tubing.  There are different sizes so make sure everything fits before you leave so that you don't have to go back.

I poked some holes in the tubing with a tack.

We had some kinks to work on.

It was a learn as you go project.  There where some kinks to work out.  The hose connecter wouldn't stay because of the water pressure.  All the other pieces of pipe do not require glue so we can rebuild it to whatever configuration we want.  The only piece that needed glue was the hose connector.  I used some E600 which so far has been holding and its been about three weeks.

The clear tubbing was nice to look out but we had some issues with that too.

Clover likes when the water pours out of the top.  So since we didn't cap off that one side there isn't enough pressure to send water through the tube.  Sometimes it got water but there wasn't enough pressure to squirt out of the holes.

Don't pay attention to my poor dying grass.

We have rebuilt about four times now and each time it's getting bigger and better!

The drill was charged so I was able to poke holes.

Overall our project was about $30.  We also bought two large bag of connectors but if you wanted to buy individual pieces it might bring the price down.

The best part was when we went back to buy more PVC and Clover declared from the back seat "I just love this store" as we pulled up to Home Depot!

That's my girl!    

Flower Meltdown

Last week after her dance show, Clover got flowers from her Daddy and from her bestest little friend.  Even with regular watering they didn't make it that long.  We got a good week out of them.  They were sad and limpy by the end of the week.  The mini roses held up very well and I hung them upside down to dry for two days so we still have the lovely bouquet.  The other ones were ready for the trash pile.  I already anticipated that this was going to be a problem.

They were HER flowers.

I thought about waiting until she was asleep but while I was cleaning the kitchen and she was in the office with Daddy I figured that I would be safe trying to dispose of the droopy flowers.  She came in and caught me mid trash.

The following fit lasted for about a half an hour.  Daddy came out just to check on her and make sure that she was okay with all the screaming.  There was crying and borderline hyperventilating.  Then in the saddest littlest voice I heard "but they are my flowers".  She didn't understand that they were dying and weren't going to last.  We talked about it and had a mini biology lesson but she didn't care.  

I put the flowers back on the counter.  Clover: 1 Mommy: 0.

While at the craft store yesterday afternoon we went through the silk flowers and picked out a bunch that was almost an exact replica of what the real flowers looked like before.  We struck a deal that if we bought the silk ones that would last forever that I could throw away the limpy dead ones on the counter.  She agreed.  Lucky for me the silk flowers were on sale.  In the end it was $2.99 well spent since she has hardly put them down since I bought them.  

Super Funtastic Summer 2012

Last year we came up with our Summer list 2011.  I/we started brainstorming our list for our Super Funtastic Summer a couple of weeks ago but never posted it.  We came up with a lot of ideas.  I think some might get left behind but we will try our hardest to get through the list.

Make ice cream

make pickles

make our own water park with pvc pipes

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/h2-ohhh-787451/2/

make our own fort

Scrapbook day

Outdoor movie pool party

bake something

decorate T-shirts

sponge balls

make boats

picnic in the park

beach trip

camping

Host a sleep over

go to the drive in!

Start a chapter book

Start an audio book

build a lego castle

write and illustrate a book together

visit a farmer's market

make play dough

try croquet 

visit the splash park

Visit the library

Hike in the woods

Go bowling

Muppet movies Marathon

Make our own muppets

Taco night

Princess Party

Meet Repunzel

Road trip

Spa Day

Pizza Party

Cotton Candy

Whenever I get a chance to sit down for more than five seconds I'll make a more prettier version.  Maybe I'll make a large version to hang up in the living room.

Words and Villains

There was a point when I first started tinkering with this blog where I thought it might be a good idea to have a place to spew out the negativity in my head.  I came up with a name and everything.  I brainstormed and thought about all the reasons I should do it.  The main being just to have a place where I could vent.  It's not like anyone would know it was me.  Although I am fully aware that the internet is not totally anonymous.  I thought if no one knew it was me what would it matter?  I would have a place to say how hurt I was, or how no matter how hard I tried or how nice I was, I always ended up a villain in someone's story.

Even though I try my hardest to stay focused on the positives, I have those days.  Sometimes those days coincide with days where I feel the need to consume large amounts of chocolate and/or ice cream or sometimes chocolate ice cream.  I don't always do it...Just sayin.    

I was on the verge of starting another chapter, a darker more sinister side of me.  Then one night when I was blog hopping I came across something that completely changed my mind.

In the end all you have left behind is your documents.  Your words.

And with that my mind swirled even more.  Words have power.  Even if we tell ourselves that they don't, they do.  I could justify how I was hurt and how life is indeed unfair.  And just typing that sentence seems juvenile.  I couldn't leave behind that negativity.  To have it sit there forever and dwell on it.  So days later I decided against creating another dark hole in the internet.  It's better that way.  I couldn't write words that could potentially hurt people.  No matter how much I wanted to vent.  That just isn't me.

I just need to feel it, embrace it and move on, or maybe fly over it on my broom.

A Blur of Tulle, Tights, Bows and Teeny Tiny Rhinestones

My baby girl was in her very first dance production.  The youngest class had two dance numbers.  They did a great job.  She lined up with her bestest little friend and the friends she had made throughout  the year.  As soon as the lights came on they danced their little hearts out.

I got to watch from the sidelines.  Hopefully someday my darling will appreciate the fact that I gave up my audience seat to take part in the backstage craziness.  Which wasn't really all that crazy at all.  Everything was very organized and our kids did great.  At one point all eight of our kids were lined up at the craft table in-between numbers.

I can't wait to get the video so I can see how she looked on stage.  Even though I gave up my seat, being backstage was fun.  It was heartwarming to see just how much fun they were having.

At the end of the show Daddy was waiting with flowers which just made her night.  She held on to them all night and midway home fell asleep on them.

She is already asking about next year's dance season and show.  Next year I will be ready with a stack of tulle and ribbon and slightly bigger rhinestones!  

Back To Whatever Normal Is

Last week was crazy.  It was a blur of tulle, tights, bows and teeny tiny rhinestones.

Sometime last year I became a dance mom!  Clover has been taking dance with her bestest little friend (her words).  She has a big best friend and a little best friend so she has to be specific.  Everything they have learned through out the season had come together last week.  Their very first show.  We were right in the middle of a professional production.  It was the dance studio's 33rd show so as the newbies we did our best to soak it all in while staying out of the way.

Last week was full of introductions and rehearsals.  Lots of busy afternoons.  We aren't really used to having busy afternoons and there was some poor planning on my part which led to a lot of eating out.  Too much for my comfort zone.  To the point where I am embarrassed to admit just how many unhealthy meals we had last week.  But it was just one week so I am cutting myself some slack.

It mostly set in while I was reading my friend's blog about eating better and treating her body right.  How she noticed that she didn't eat right her body let her know.  It probably didn't help that while I was reading about how she was learning how to treat her body right, I was sucking down a chocolate milk while munching on the pretzel ritz munchables.

So then I got up and made some summer porridge to sit in the refrigerator for breakfast.  I make a variation of the blueberry one.  I don't do chia seeds though because I have texture issues, so I subbed in a tablespoon of wheat germ because it's what I had.  I have also had it with flax seed which is also pretty yummy.

I am feeling better about getting back to our version of normal.  Whatever that is.