Peach pie! MMMM!!

My whole intention was to make this for Terry before he left last weekend, but dang it, time just slipped away from me. So I have about 12 peaches staring at me and pie tins empty. It was cool and rainy yesterday, PIE TIME! That was my first time making one from scratch! I'm pretty anxious to see how it will come out... I froze it until my Love comes home again. Yes, I'm totally sappy!

I had gotten the instructions from- http://www.skiptomylou.org/?s=peach+pie&x=0&y=0

I measured and mixed.
I peeled and sliced.

I totally made a mess! But that's how I roll!

I tried to blanch my peaches to make the skin easier to come off. I didn't do it long enough so I ended up peeling them the old fashioned way.

I used butter instead of shortening!

 I did have enough left over filling to make another, less filled pie! After freezing my other delicious looking creation I decided to make another. But lo, an behold, I ran out of flour! GRRFACE! I was just at the store the other day! SIGH!




SO! I improvised! Crescent rolls to the rescue! I added a dash of sugar to my floured area to sweeten the dough as I rolled it out. It was so tasty that I had 3 pieces (dinner)! I had to give the rest to our adopted family, Lee and Al otherwise I would have eaten the rest. Depending on how the homemade pie turns out I just may use crescent rolls instead of making a pie crust. I really like how nice and brown it gotten. I can't wait to try the other!

Look what I made!

I had some energy and Mini Man went to sleep nice and early. Now I know I should be heading to bed myself (He was up about 6 times last night and then stayed up at 4:30 am), but I have a project I was kicking around!

I am thinking of making another for etsy and have not decided whether to keep this one for me or to list it! LOL! I have gone Owl crazy! I love these little guys! I am unsure whether I will sell him or hold onto him yet... It says- "Welcome to our nest".

Now I should have found peel and stick letters because I have terrible handwriting! I used dry erase so I could just change the words and for adding what I am grateful for daily. This was a brown wood frame but I used some red paint, while still damp I brushed on a bit of cream with a old cloth. This one I may add a fabric flower or something to. Still going to work on this one!

Minions! BOOHAHAHAHA!

Let me start off by saying I am not a cake decorator. LOL! I saw a site that had adorable Minions- Despicable Me http://www.thepartyanimal-blog.org/despicable-minion-twinkie-cakes/. I was hooked! Alex and Kalven's party was coming up so I had the brain child that I could do this! I have maybe 2 self taught cake classes and I have had a handful of sucessful cakes- a campfire cake for Scouts that brought in $35 at their auction!

So there I go off the store to get everything I needed. I have no patience to run around all over the place and like one stop shop outing. I couldn't find several things and ended up either omitting or trying to wing it.

I decided on using the 3 tier cake pans. Well, let me tell you it turns out the Minions were HUGE on this. SIGH! I improvised again. Poor Minions never had a chance! I cut one in half and tooth picked 2 others to the cake after I noticed they slowly were falling off the first and second tier.

AGH! Soon arms and legs from these poor little guys were falling off. I swear it was looking like a horror flick! Then I was so hyped that I failed to remember that I didn't have a cover for this monstrosity, which meant I needed to leave it out over night.

Sour worms for arms and legs!

I thought about buying a box of Twinkies but I worried I would eat the left overs!

 I threw them in the freezer to make it easier to frosting, I also put them back in the freezer for about an hour while the cake was cooling.

White Smarties for the little guys eyes. BUT the black for the glasses oozed and so did the dot in their eyes. I had to mix up some black (which turned out grey) frosting with food coloring since I could not find any at the grocery store.

Notice some arm and leg slippage! LOL!

I couldn't fit him on the cake. SAD FACE!

The next day we had cake! Oh it was yummy and despite how sad my poor Minions turned out Terry and Alex ate a bunch and commented that it was pretty tasty! YEA ME!

Turns out the cake was super moist, the Minions had hard heads from being left out all night, but that was ok, the Baby dug in and without haste!

Happy Birthday Alex & Kalven! Next year... No Minons and I have a year to fine tune my decorating skills! In the mean time "Let them eat cake!"

Are you prepared?

Around our house we have been in survival mode. Scary to say, but nowadays this is something you should think about. Our economy is so shaky right now do you have a plan if something hits the fan? Could you live without your cell phone?
What if the ATM's or banks close?
Do you have enough canned food that you can survive on?
Can you make a fire on your own?
Can you survive a natural or man made castrophe?

Ok, I'm not talking zombies! Though the CDC has a good hand on surviving this type of attack, I have a fear of zombies. But seriously, if something natural happens or if our economy continues to spiral, we should be prepared.

It's not hard to do! I will cover this over the next few weeks here or there. So to begin...

 

YOUR PERSONAL GO KIT / SURVIVAL KIT

 

 

   Let’s talk about National Preparedness Month. What essential items are you going to need if a major storm or some other event devastates your area?  Below are listed some suggested items you should have on hand and is not meant to be all inclusive.  Your personal situation will also drive what you will need to keep you going until the situation stabilizes.  

• Food for at least 2 days such as energy bars, canned meats, jerky, candy etc. The type of stuff that you like.
• Water - put at least a 12 pack in the trunk or your car.
• Flashlight & spare batteries - there may be extended power outages.
• Blankets
• Gasoline - Keep it filled.
• Money – power and telephone outages can cause ATM’s and card readers to stop working.  Get some money now (possibly $ 200 or $300).  Be prepared for several days of a cash only economy.
• Battery powered radio with weather band and spare batteries.
• Your medicines - if you are close to the end of a Rx get them refilled, get the over the counter products that you use; aspirin,  etc.
• A change of clothes, extra socks, sturdy shoes.
• Keep your cell-phones charged.
• Have essential telephone numbers for your family, doctor, co-workers.

 Next time I will show you our pantry, it's small, since we live an apartment, but we have enough food to cover us for at least 30 to 60 days.

More antique adventures in Ohio!

Terry discovered a few antique shops that he couldn't wait to take me to! Oh he was not kidding when he said my jaw would drop! Heart of Ohio Antiques did not fail to stop me in my tracks! I, oh'd and ah'd while we looked over thousands of items! I kid you not! It was so mind blowing! Things from the 1800's, Europe, Africa, Civil War, World War I and II! You name it I am almost certain they had it. After 2 hours we didn't finish going through the mall due to being extremely hungry and pooped. We did manage to go to another antique shop but it was nothing compared to the first.

Of course there are pictures!

Kalven was really into looking at everything, but like most 11 months old he quickly grew tired and cranky! LOL!

This booth is really "Plain!" LOL! Sorry I couldn't help myself!

Seriously?!  Cholorophyll gum! I know this didn't last long!

Pre-teens and Babies! Happy birthday!

I can't believe so much time has passed! Both of my babies will be celebrating a birthday next week.
Oh I know it's soon to wish them well but I have a few moments of quiet and I couldn't help myself.
Alex will be 12 and Kalven will be 1! Both on the 10th! I know what are the odds! Alex is cool with it now, though I know at the time she was upset. She did think if we have another one on the 10th of Sept. that would be weird. Of course she also believes Kalven is her mini minion since he was born on her birthday! LOL!

It is so wild to remember being preggers at this time last year. Dealing with enema's, making batches of Labor cookies, rubbing Castor Oil, Evening Primrose Oil on my private parts to induce labor naturally. We had the tub set up for the "Home birth" I wanted to have. Things don't always turn out the way we want them!

Funny thing is Alex herself was a baby that just didn't want to come down and join the world too! I never experienced a true labor in any of my 4 births. Weird huh? Sorry for rambling, but feeling sentimental.

We will be celebrating they're birthday's a bit early. Terry has been away for sometime and this will be a homecoming for him for the Labor Day weekend. Pretty excited all around!

TA-DA! Shrinky Dinks necklace reveal!

Ok! It's today! Here it is! I think next time I will cut the strips thinner. I used 7mm jump rings and I'm not overly thrilled about the way I ended up squeeshing it in the rings. I am still pretty happy with my latest creation!

I will have more patience and wait for the ink to dry or to dig out my hair dryer to speed things along next time. I would have liked more color. I'll play with it and see where it goes! I was thinking of bracelets but of course getting it to bend while it is still hot is important! I tried making a few but I have to scrap them or revamp because they are sooooooo small. LOL! Off to the drawing board!