Friday Finds: A Game to Make You Feel Stupid

Right. I just can’t resist this game, even though it repeatedly reminds me that I should have studied harder - much harder - in world geography. But it’s a great way to kill time.

Leave your Friday Find in comments, if you have one.

Heir Apparel

Appropriate dress for holiday shopping, according to a two-year-old:

Handsome navy-and-maroon Gap sweater. Matching trendy Gap jeans. A pair of hand-me-down “soccer man shoes” (or cleats, for the uninitiated) and a red plastic fireman’s hat.

Friday Finds: Christmas Reading

 

No one would accuse me of having “country” decorations in my home. I don’t do gingham. But this week, I have some great crafty holiday reading for you, and it’s country, y’all.

 

Our library keeps a cart of “impulse books” right by the circulation desk, under the same principle that grocery stores put candy by the checkout. You’re waiting in line, and something catches your eye, so you snatch it and throw it in the library bag. The good news is that, unlike candy, the books don’t usually cost you calories.

 

Except that two weeks ago, the cart was full of crafty Christmas books. I grabbed one by Gooseberry Patch, because it looked like it might have some neat recipes. And boy, did it ever. The Gingerbread Pancakes are to die for, and especially delicious served with warmed lemon curd. They even have several neat holiday decorating ideas for the craft-impaired, like myself. For those of you who sew and/or love to do crafty things, this book is a treasure trove.

 

Happy Holidays!

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Since I haven’t had a lot of response for the “play along” part of Friday Finds, I’m not going to bother putting up a Mister Linky today. If you’d like to play, leave a permalink to your post about your Friday Find in comments. If there’s enough of them, I’ll put up a Mister Linky.

 

Thanks!

Worth Reading

Check out my friend Snappy’s blog if you have a chance - she’s an excellent writer and has two of the cutest kids you’ll ever meet. Please give her a warm welcome into the blogosphere!

Memory

Lately, my thoughts have been spinning out of my head like spiderwebs. I grab at parts of them, but they disintegrate on me when I try to spin them out into cohesive tales, leaving a sticky and unpleasant residue on my heart.

I can’t remember if the dog’s been fed. Or if I paid the bills - yesterday I scoured the checkbook register three separate times to reassure myself that I did, indeed, pay the gas bill.

It’s more than just absentmindedly wondering if I left the coffee pot on. I am forgetting. Forgetting, especially the good things. Forgetting Tom’s babyhood. Failing to record Seth’s, and forgetting his adorable fatness, his Beavis and Butthead laugh, his clear desire to do whatever his big brother is doing.

That’s why I love the archives. I’ve been wasting time perusing them all evening, and found a few gems I completely forgot that I wrote. Do you remember Bruce? Or the one about the plate of worms? I don’t even remember writing this one.

Let it Snow

The first snowfall of the year always leaves me feeling elated. I prance around the house in my pajamas, singing “Let It Snow” with a goofy grin on my face. Usually SuperHubby looks at me like I should be an inmate at a mental institution, but this year I have had two co-conspirators in my snowbound bliss.

Keep reading at Crunchable.

Picture Day

Today was Christmas Picture Day. It was snowing, so it seemed like the thing to do. But I learned that telling a two-year-old to smile sometimes results in this:

 

But with enough luck, sometimes you get this:

 

Because I Can

Friday Finds: Pumpkinlicious

It’s the most pumpkin-y time of the year, and I just love it. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins and iced pumpkin cookies all make my holidays sweeter and my pants tighter. But I found a new recipe this year that tops them all: Pumpkin Pie Bars. This is the smooth, creamy goodness of pumpkin pie, but bite-sized and hand-held for your convenience. (Also with a tasty streusel topping). Can’t beat that with a stick, I tell you.

Here’s the oh-so-easy recipe:

Pumpkin Pie Bars

• 1 package yellow cake mix (reserve 1 cup for topping)
• 6 Tbs. melted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 15oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, to taste
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Topping:

• 1 cup reserved cake mix
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, margarine or butter-flavored Crisco, your choice. Any solid fat will do here.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil and grease foil.

Pour 1 cup of cake mix into a medium bowl and set aside.

Combine remaining cake mix, 6 Tbs. butter and 1 egg, mix well and press into the pan.

Combine the pumpkin, sugar, milk and spices, mix well and taste. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Then beat two eggs and mix them into the pumpkin mixture. Pour the whole mess into the pan.

Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon to the reserved cake mix, stir well. Cut in butter or shortening, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping onto the pumpkin filling.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the center is set and a knife inserted in the bars comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and use the foil to lift the bars from the pan before cutting. Serve slightly warm with whipped cream, or chill. Store leftovers (ha ha) covered in the refrigerator.

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Do you have a Friday Find? If you’d like to play along, write up your find in a post on your own blog. Then come back here and add the URL to that blog post to the Mister Linky. Check out the complete rules here.

Karate Kid

A few weeks ago, I started taking karate classes. I got hooked when the sensei from a local dojo came to my MOPS group and taught us all a little self-defense. The thwack of my fist against the pads was just so satisfying.

So I signed up for the trial month - $60 for three hours a week in lessons, uniform included. I went to every class. I pushed myself. On the first day, I could do 10 push-ups and no sit-ups. Not  even one. Two babies in two years will do that to your abs, I guess.

By the fifth class, I was up to about 40 push-ups and 30 sit-ups. I’m improving. I’m losing a little weight - I would lose more if I laid off the brownies.

My favorite time of the week are the minutes just after class, when I’ve had an hour to myself, to do something good for myself. When my children scream and I have to go to that happy place, I’ve been taking a mental trip to the padded an mirrored dojo, imagining practicing my round kick.

But this is where karate turns bad. Once they have you hooked, they jack up the price on you. They jack the price WAY up. We’re talking car payment way up.  The sensei might be able to let me work off some of the cost by doing some painting in the studio, but I just don’t know. I feel like I got hooked on a free sample of crack, and now I’ve got to sell the house or the car or the kids to pay for my next hit.

Oh, I don’t know what to do. My heart says - ‘Go, go, go! Your mental and physical health is worth the money!’ My head says - ‘Stop, stop, stop! I know we can’t afford this. It’s just not possible.’

Ugh.