Coconut Oil

My friend Cindy told me she had been cooking a lot with coconut oil.  I have a container of it but really haven't used it.  I believe I got mine from Wal-mart.  Coconut oil is solid at room temperature but melts to the touch.  Cindy also uses it on her hands as a moisturizer. 
This week I was in the mood for brownies but didn't have any vegetable oil.  How would coconut oil work?  I had my doubts when the oil could be seen in the batter in tiny balls but I threw the pan in the oven anyway.
They tasted great!  I just used a boxed recipe and the coconut oil added something special.  It didn't taste coconutty it just tasted yummier than usual.
I'm going to use it to grease my pan for some shrimp later on this week.  I think it's going to be just as good as though brownies.  Thanks Cindy!

A New Love

My husband and his buddies are big fans of paintball.  They meet in camo in the woods and spend a few hours shooting at each other.  I was invited to go and actually went.  This was a great excuse for Chuck to purchase more equipment. 
That morning I was quite nervous.  I kept imaging awful scenarios; what if I have to use the bathroom, I'm going to fall and break an arm, what if I get hit and cry! 
The first game I was suppose to defend my team's "flag".  I thought I picked a good hiding spot but I felt silly sitting there waiting.  After a few minutes I could hear guns going off and decided I should move around a bit.  I never saw anyone to shoot at and no one saw me either.  That was a bit of a let down. 
The next few rounds got much better.  I must say I enjoyed shooting that gun at someone immensely.  I did get shot twice, once in the shoulder and another on the top of my head.  It did sting.  But I got two people too!  One was on the other team but sadly and most embarrassingly the other was one of my own team members.  I understand the term "friendly fire" now.
I can also understand how my husband can talk about a morning of paintball for days.  My legs are no longer sore and I'm excited to get to go again!  The above suit would really come in handy.

Another Favorite Gift

I've been wanting the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia's of Crafts and Sewing.  Chuck gave me both of them for Christmas!

These books are full of great ideas.  This year I'd like to make handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  I'm eager to pick something to craft as soon I get all this Christmas stuff back into the attic.  We got all the outside stuff down and the kids' trees packed up.  All that's left is the big tree and some little decorations.

Swirl, Tap, Buff

I received really great gifts that I'm still playing with.  My mom and husband both gave me pretty packages of make-up!  All Bare-Minerals.  I never wear foundation because it looks like I'm doing a poor job of covering my freckles.  It never looked natural.  But I've wanted to try Bare-Minerals when I want to look more polished.  So far I love it.  You put on with a swirl, tap and buff.  I feel more put together and younger.  It makes me feel like a teenager when I spent hours getting ready.  I don't spend hours now but I have spent a little more time and it's been fun!  Thank you Mom and Chuck.  Love you!

One of My Favorite Movies

I watch this movie every Christmas season, "One Magic Christmas".  My husband usually finds me sniffling even when I try to hide.  Normally I do not recommend emotional movies as they leave me drained but this one is special. 
I like it because I can relate to the main character, a flustered mom.  I too feel at times that I'm the only one in the house with any sense of reality and responsibility.  I know this is not the case but being rational is not one of my strengths.  For example, I can be a real penny pincher. Recently, I threw a fit when my husband threw a $10 bottle of honey into the shopping cart without me knowing until I reviewed the receipt.  He was thinking that he got the most for the money and I'm thinking that $10 is just outrageous for honey!  It totally ruined my "savings in coupons" and "total money spent" ratio on the receipt.  I returned it and bought the cheap honey bear.
Back to the movie, this mom is struggling with having a Christmas spirit in the midst of her husband being laid off, working for a jerk of a boss, and just being "Mom".  She learns the hard way what life would be without her children and her husband.  It's a great story with a good ending. Love it!

Pillow Pets, All the Rage

A year ago my daughter saw a commercial for pillow pets.  She spent her birthday money on the horse since the unicorn wasn't available.  I wasn't willing to spend $19.99 on the toy then an additional $9 for shipping but she was.  She has LOVED it intensely and so has Charlie.  He is known for sneaking into her room and stealing it.  His Marmie bought him the dog soon after the horse was such a hit.  This year she bought them both another one for their birthday.  We now own the horse, the unicorn, the dog, and the bee.  They are all very much loved.  Today they were all under the living room in a fort made with my robe.
Now that pillow pets are in stores everywhere, I would suggest these as a gift for any child.  I'm thinking about getting one for myself.  They're the perfect size for your lap on a long car trip.  Maybe I'll get the ladybug.

Rhinestones To A Picnic

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear my rhinestone Americana pins to Chuck's family reunion.  It's not really fair to call the collection "mine" as most of them belong to my grandmother.  In fact she inspired me to begin my own but it's been slow going finding them so I had to borrow hers. I sprinkled them all over this red jacket that I picked up at a thrift store.  I'm loving it. 

Fresh New Site

You know my yard sale buddy Ginger right?  She sent me a link to her new site, That Looks Like Craft, I love it already and she's only posted once.  The post is all about a fantastic buy from our last weekend of junking.  I'm incredibly jealous of:
1. somehow I missed this little gem of a buy
2. where did she find the time to paint it in two days?  Did I mention she has 5 children. I only have 2 and feel I have to have a sitter to accomplish anything.
3. her blog looks really great.
I'm looking forward to seeing her next project! 

Sonic Bloom

My mother has run across the best nail polish I've ever used, Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Nail Color. I bought the Sonic Bloom color which is a great summer coral-red. It happens to match my new swimsuit perfectly, (more on the swimsuit in a later post). Mom bought Flashy Fuchsia which is a lovely bright pink.

This nail polish claims to cover in one coat and dry rapidly. It does dry quite fast but I preferred the color after two coats. What was the most surprising about this product was how well it lasts. I put it through the beach test. The color did not chip on day 1, 2, or 3 whilst I trudged through sand. In fact, it hasn't chipped ever. I rate this product an A+!

Two Great Family Games

We've had Blokus for a couple of years now but no one will play with me. I LOVE this game, probably because I'm really good at it. The point of the game is to fit as many of your pieces onto the board while blocking other players moves. Women tend to be really good at this game.The other game I like is Doodle Dice. I am NOT good at this game but I'm determined to win at least once. The point of this game is to match a card's illustration with what symbols you've rolled with the dice. The illustrations get more intricate as the game goes on.

Both games have simple rules and are a blast. Kids age 8 and older can easily play either games.

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day was in May of 2003. My in-laws lived close to Sanibel Island Florida at the time, so we had a photo session there. The pics turned out to be some of my all time favorite photos.

Here is me telling Chuck to "suck it up" for a few more minutes after he tells me things are biting him. In my zeal to get some good photos I didn't bother to look at his legs until we were done. They were in a black cloud of biting flies. He really is a trooper. I would have been pitching a fit.
Notice my father in-law in the back packing up, everyone was concerned but me. I can be such a Queen Bee sometimes. And why is it there always a photo to prove it?!

Oh how I love these two brown eyed cuties.

I can't have a Mother's Day post without my Charlie or my wonderful mother. Here they are together in Navarre Beach Florida last weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

Food Revolution!

If you are interested in your child's school cafeteria serving fresh homemade food, sign Jamie's Food Revolution Petition at ABC.com!

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

One of my favorite chef's, Jamie Oliver has a new show! It's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC Fridays at 8 p.m. This show is about Jamie trying to educate people starting in the town of Huntington, W.V. This particular town was judged as the most unhealthy town in America based on health statistics.

Sadly, Jamie has had a lot of people in this town resisting his ideas about changing to a healthier lifestyle. He started this revolution by getting to know what the children in their elementary school were served. This was not good. He tried to get the lunch ladies on board with cooking everything from scratch. You can imagine they did not want to make their jobs more difficult. This is Alice,

she's Jamie's nemesis in the lunch room but she can be quite entertaining if you are not Jamie. Another part of the show that I found interesting but sad was the kindergarten class could not name one fresh vegetable shown to them, not one! But the best part was their own teacher took it upon herself to teach them. A week later Jamie was invited in to quiz them and they did a wonderful job.

I can't wait for this week's episode. I saw in the preview where Jamie is showing the town's local DJ (also one of Jamie's nemesis) inside the funeral parlor. There was the largest coffin I've ever seen in that parlor. It looked like a square raft and it was disgusting. I hope Jamie can win this town over.

Charming Jamie

One of my favorite gifts from Christmas is of all things....a cookbook, Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver. I have seen one of Jamie's shows on BBC called "Jamie at Home" where he gathers ingredients from his own garden and cooks with pots and pans that look like he found them at a thrift store. It 's all very charming, he has a such a likable way about him. He's also been on Martha Stewart several times and managed to make her laugh and relax.


His new cook book is intended to get people who don't like cooking or don't know how, to get into the kitchen! I like his mix of recipes that include lots of fresh veggies and spices with simple cooking skills. Every recipe has pictures, I need to see the finished product to get inspired. I've cooked three recipes so far and enjoyed them all. Our favorite is the spaghetti and meatballs. Katherine helped by plucking the leaves off the stems of fresh basil and going outside to snip some sprigs from our Rosemary bush. I've never made my own spaghetti sauce before and it was good and easy to do. This recipe was a bit more intense than my usual but we had dinner guests that night so I made the effort. I also made a chocolate cake but in my haste iced it before it cooled and the top layer slowly slid off to one side. No one cared and it was delicious!

The Best Mascara!

I saw an ad in a magazine about this mascara by L'Oreal. The tube has two ends, the white side builds "fibers" onto your lashes to add volume and length, then you use the black end for color. The end result is quite awesome. I love this product. It really does add length and volume but I don't care for the removing part. It comes off easily but freakishly. The "fibers" look like mini worms when wet and tend to get every where in the shower. However, I love the look so much that I deal with the worms. The price is the same as a regular tube of mascara but the results are way better, I give this product an A+!

The Best Christmas Tree EVER!

My mother has always had a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, sometimes 2 full size trees. This picture just doesn't do it justice. The flash takes away the magic of it. Here are two photos of her trees from long ago. She has since perfected the art of dressing a tree and her lip color.




Mom and I may be the only two women who consider where to put the Christmas tree when purchasing a new home. We take our trees quite seriously. So when I got married, I tried each year to achieve the same greatness as hers. It took me 10 years. Last year was the first year that I thought, "This is it! I've finally done it!". I think I cried.
I wish I had a photo with the angel facing forward but my tree is in a rotating stand and it's a difficult shot to get. That's my cutie nephew Jack popping up into the picture. He was playing with the train underneath the tree.


Now I like a tree with lots of color, sparkle and memories. If you prefer a simply dressed tree I can't help you but if you want to wow your holiday guests we can do it together!

1. Choose a tree with LOTS of pre-strung lights, if you're buying a new artificial tree choose the one with the most lights that stay lit even when one goes out or becomes loose. We use a rotating tree stand from Amazon.com. This really makes everything sparkle and is unexpectedly useful keeping babies and animals from grabbing ornaments as they pass by to quick to grab. My dad made us a wooden stand as well because the tree limbs fell so low that no one could see the presents underneath. It also adds another foot or so to the height of the tree and is covered with a tree skirt.

2. Take the time to "fluff" the limbs. This is a very tedious and annoying task but must be done. Fluff by pulling the limbs up and apart with some branches going slightly down. I've heard that the next "new thing" in artificial trees are they don't require any fluffing. Nice.

3. Garland. This is also an annoying and tedious task but so worth your time. Most people don't bother with this which is why it'll look that much more polished when you do. Mom made this easier by using paper clips. First use the paper clip to join all the lengths of garland end to end. Next use the paper clip as a hook to join the garland to the end of the tree branches slowly going around the tree trying to make the loops pretty even and level with each other. When you're done it will not look great but have no fear. Your ornaments are going to cover any flaws. My 7 1/2 foot tree took 12 strands of garland.

4. Glass Balls are next. These need to be tucked deep into the branches spreading color evenly. You want to use the premium hanging spots on the tree limbs for your special ornaments. You will be tired of doing this but you're almost to the fun part! If you can stand it, do steps 1-4 without the kids. I later learned that Mom would rearrange just about all the ornaments that we hung after we went to bed.

5. All your unique and special ornaments are next. The kids can help with this and it will still look good. I don't think I've ever seen a tree with too many ornaments.

6. Tuck in some "picks". This will add that special decorator's touch to your tree. These don't require any hooks, they just lay or stick out of the branches. These are usually found in bins at the craft stores and are super cheap. Buy lots and buy those with lots of sparkle!

If you feel your tree just hasn't reached that greatness, I am guessing you need to buy more ornaments, picks, balls, and garland. After Christmas of course! No need to spend a lot of money for a gorgeous tree.

Time Flies When You're In Love

Yesterday was our 11th year wedding anniversary! We went to the Olive Garden, one of our favorite restaurants, while the kids went out for pizza with my parents. It was nice to have my husband to myself for a few hours.


My mother warned me about choosing a wedding date so close to the holidays but I didn't listen. It does make it difficult to go anywhere with our daughter in school and having the cash. We did manage to go to New York a few years ago. My brother in-law lived in Jersey at the time so we got to stay with him and go to the city every day. It's my favorite anniversary year so far. Seeing New York at Christmas time was incredible. Here we are in Rockefeller Center shopping and people watching.


It's so strange to think we've been together for 15 years because it's been so great. I love you Chuck, you're the best husband and father that I could have ever dreamed of.

Wish List

I'm a big believer in giving your husband a detailed list of what you would like to receive for birthdays and Christmas. My handsome guy always gifts a mix of the things I ask for and some of his own gift ideas. His ideas almost always work because they follow my number rule:

If it doesn't make me feel glamorous or beautiful don't.

Don'ts include: anything to do with cooking, cleaning, parenting, aging, hair removal, or exercise.

Here are few items on this year's list!

1. Amazing Grace roll on perfume by Philosophy, $25. This perfume has such a light, clean and fresh scent. I'm usually overwhelmed and headachy when I wear perfume but not with this! The price seems a little pricey but my last bottle lasted a year, well worth it.

2. So Sexy volumizing shampoo and conditioner by Victoria's Secret, $20. I was once swamped by men and women sniffing my hair in Sunday school. Yes, it does smell that wonderful! I'm just too cheap to buy it on a regular basis.


3. Umbrella by Totes sold in Target. Our last surviving umbrella is a huge blue and white contraption with Budweiser scrawled all over it. I think my husband got it free from Alltel. It just isn't me. But this one is! I need it in red please.

4. Bellydance with Jillina Choreography, Vol 1-3 DVD's from Amazon, $45. In my opinion, Jillina is the best at teaching and dancing belly dance. I love you Jillina! You might consider this one breaking my rule of no exercise but since it's my idea it is good. Chuck's gift box of Tae-Bo was not good. Billy Blanks does not wear any sequins, beads, big hair, or dance.


5. The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia from Amazon, $15. I borrowed this book from the library this summer and devoured it in one night. The illustrations and writing were whimsical and funny. I just loved it.

I hope you will consider your own list and hand it over with confidence. Every woman deserves a wonderful morning surrounded by gifts that make her feel gorgeous!

Quite a Setup!

We had great Halloween weekend. We began our celebrating with carving the pumpkins. Chuck purchased a "Pumpkin Gutter" on line this year. It's a tool that is inserted into an electric drill that allows you to speedily clean out the inside of a pumpkin. It worked really well but did throw out pieces and seeds. I would have preferred to do this task outside but in the end it wasn't too messy.


We rate this tool an A-, points subtracted for the price ($15 with shipping and handling).


Last year, we lucked up and bought a Bubble Fogger on clearance. This contraption blows fog into bubbles. It worked really well and was a big hit with adults and kids. Chuck had this set up outside along with the fire pit and black lighting. Every man who came by said, "This is quite a set up you have here". If you come by a Bubble Fogger on clearance grab it!

Milestones

Charlie had two big milestones this week. His first words and his first step! Chuck brought him to me after his nap and he said "hi"! He will to say it several times to Katherine now until she pays attention to him. So sweet. This afternoon Chuck walked in and Charlie said "DaDa" several times.
Tonight he was balancing with the help of the ottoman when he spotted the remote on the arm of the couch. He knows the remote is a no-no so he went for it by taking a step! He just might be walking by his 1st birthday, only a few weeks away.