Tuesday, September 30

something good this way comes...



Jakob Dylan has done it once again... he has produced a song that surely years from now I will look back and remember this 'page' of my life. You know when you hear a song from long ago and instantly you are where you were when the song made an impact? The last song was One Headlight from his days with his band Wallflowers. The band wasn't really a favorite of mine, but the song was. Still to this day I think it is a great song and I feel my youth flooding over me... so anyways... I present to you this great little melody that will surely be stuck in your head too, when "Something Good this way Comes".

Friday, September 26

thoughtful friday.......

thoughtful friday... to my children

Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.
~ Norman Vincent Peale

Thursday, September 25

pretty much normal, no?

faces my son makes....
this is normal....


faces my son makes....

again... still pretty normal.........


faces my son makes....
normal?... sure.....


why does my little girl know about sleeping gas, and will fall like a fly at the mention of it and start snoring???

HOw does she know what to do when her older brother tells her that the good guys got them(b/c of course they are the bad guys when Myla plays) what does she do you ask?? she falls with her tongue hanging out!!!!



the things she has learned

she calls him stinky poop head and laughs...........

so, do I dare ask.... "are we normal????"


this is stinky... poop head ... mom...signing off......

Tuesday, September 23

Dried Fruit Drop Cookies



This was the first time I made it with whole wheat flour... though they are still moist and fluffy... white flour has a certain goodness to this cookie. (***pending a new picture of this awesome cookie... to come December 2009)



Fruit Drops (an Italian drop cookie)

2 cups dried fruit mix
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.... In medium bowl combine nuts and fruit with 2 tblsps of flour. Stir until evenly coated; set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter... add sugar... mix well until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in remaining flour. Stir in fruit~nut mixture into dough. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 - 15minutes or until lightly browned. If desired dust with powdered sugar.

Store in airtight container.

Monday, September 22

the election coverage....

I love Craig Ferguson's take on the media coverage surrounding the election... enough already....

Friday, September 19

Thoughtful Friday

thoughtful Friday...

"Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."
~Charles Dickens

Wednesday, September 17

hangin' in the breeze

still hangin' to dry

So... an update is in order... I am STILL line drying all the clothes. I must admit that there has been more than one occasion where I was tempted to just throw them in the dryer... but I resisted, and I am proud to report that it has been a committed 6 months to my line and I am quite quick with the whole process... (the best is seeing my 2 yr old 'shake' out the clothes, she is an excellent helper!)

Sunday, September 14

a little this... a little that...

I know that I have posted before that I love before and after shots... well here is one for all who knew my poor poor circle out front...

front yard earlier this year...

we had an issue with the drip system and lost a few plants... but we, as we did in the back yard... tried to REUSE any and all materials as possible... so the circle became a small wall... (which I would like to add a third row of blocks... but face a little resistance from hubby)... and the rocks were used from the back yard to help fill in around the wall.

Here it is at our current pause until cooler weather permits us to do more

front yard now

Do you like our baby tree? Its a ginkgo. My hubby is fascinated that it is from prehistoric times and reguarded as a 'living fossil'... and ultimately the reason we got it. Not to mention that we were hoping to bring some change of season to our desert oasis... (the leaves are to turn a great golden yellow in the fall!!!!) The green border thing that keeps the mulch from entering the land of rocks, really bugs us... but I'm sure we will find a solution to cover it up... river rock???

And do you know that there is only ONE thing that I like about the summers here??? Can you guess what it is? Its in the after picture?

The Mexican Bird of Paradise!!!! Its like a huge wall of orange!!! The neighbors have one too, so when I open the blinds in the dinning room theirs shine through for me to enjoy.

Saturday, September 13

Applesauce Cookies

our cookie jar...


Applesauce cookies...
(this recipe comes from my kids great great grandmother on hubby's mom's side of the family. The story goes that she always had a large red tin canister (similar to the popcorn tins) full at all times because her husband loved them so much... sweet I think...they were kept in a big red tin canister, under the kitchen sink.
so here goes
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup wheat germ
3 cups or so of flour (I use wheat flour)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
Cream together butter and sugar. Add nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon... mixing well. Stir in applesauce and baking soda. Beat in egg. Add wheat germ and mix well. Add flour a cup at a time and mix well. Chocolate chips and nuts are optional ... stir in. Drop by the spoonful on a greased cookie sheet
Bake at 375 for 12-17 mins
these are soooo good straight from the oven. I like the fluffyness of this cookie. This past go round I added flax seed meal too...

Tuesday, September 9

What does your work look like?

my worker bee

this little guy was way excited about doing homework... this here is his first completed worksheet.