Throwback Thursday: Relocated to Tuesday. The Easter Bunny told me to.

We move to New Zealand a week from today. So needless to say, I have a crazy amount of things to do in an even more crazy amount of time. So this will be the last throwback picture (yes, I know its Tuesday, but it coincides with the blog hop, so its early!) for several months. Sorry kids. But you will just have to be entertained by my Land next to the land Down Under stories! Sucks to be you ;)

This picture just OOZES Easter. Not sure if it is, but pink, pastel, pretty, dresses and bows. Might as well be the day the Bunny brings me too much candy and I beat the other Sunday school kids with my palm branch. Why can't I look like my mother did? Ugh. I want THOSE genes.

Also, my grandparents came over for dinner tonight (kind of a, "see you eventually" dinner) and I made the most pretty/delicious pumpkin spice cupcake tops with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Pictures shall ensue. Too drool worthy not to.

Blog Hop: Best Bread Recipe

Pumpkin Yeast Bread aka Heaven in a Loaf! (Click for original recipe link)
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast (I like to use three)
2/3 cup warm milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups puréed pumpkin, either fresh or canned
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 1/2 cups (approximately) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
(I also add a good amount of cinnamon)

In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, oil, 4 cups flour, brown sugar, salt, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add remaining flour, a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

(At this point, I usually like to add raisins, and/or small spoonfuls of brown sugar in pockets of the dough) The brown sugar pockets, when melted are the BEST gooeyness.

Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide dough in half. Shape dough into loaves and place in well-greased 10 x 5-inch pans or, shape half into a loaf, and other half into 12 large dinner rolls. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Loaves bake about 30 minutes, rolls about 20. Check the internal temperature of each with an instant-read thermometer; a reading of 190°F means bread or rolls are done.

Immediately remove bread or rolls from pans and cool on a wire rack to prevent crust from becoming soggy.

Blog Hop: Surviving Snow?

This was two month's ago already, but I have since stopped taking pictures because now, I really just want to punch snow and winter in the kidneys. Back then, it was still pretty :)

Enjoy!

20 Years Ago.

I know its not Throwback Thursday, but its been moved up a few days to do the blog hop. This week's theme is, "20 Years Ago..."

I can only assume this was 20 years ago. I look about 4 years old, right? Looks about right. I'm not sure where we are, or even whose cat that is, but I do now how I got the giant scrape on my face. We were visiting relatives and I was playing on a skateboard. Playing and face planting are of course, one in the same. I dont actually remember the event, but i remember sitting on someone's bed afterwards, and getting to sort through shells, picking my favorite one, to make me "feel better." I dont remember it being traumatic at all, although this picture makes me see why everyone else remembers it as traumatic!

But really, I think the most traumatizing thing about this picture, is my mother's outfit! :)

DPP 7: Double Duty with the Blog Hop!

I am pulling double duty on this post. One picture for the blog hop, and one for my Daily December Photo Project. The first (above) is for the Photo Project, mainly because its a much better picture, a billion times more artsy, and I just like it. Our tree in the past few years has been donned with jewel toned decorations. Purples, blues, teals, magentas, you get the idea. But this year, I am going traditional! It involved buying all new ornaments, but with a trip to the General Store in MN, our tree was ready for trimming in all reds, greens, and golds. I have to say, I think it turned out quite nicely.

This one is for this week's Blog Hop. It asked about our favorite ornament, and while I guess technically a tree topper isn't considered an ornament, I am going to count it anyway! We've had it since we first got our tree, and frankly, I don't even remember what the kitty was originally clutching between its elasticed together paws, but now, every Christmas, this kitty cat is holding on for dear life on the top of our tree....and I love it.

Here's some other artsy fartsy pictures of our ornaments this year. I wish I could make a living out of photographing ornaments...any takers?

Hippity Hop?

This week's blog hop gives me too many options!! So here's four of varying degrees of answerability, answer what you want to, but I'll love you more if you answer them all!

1) What should I make as a vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving? (I like new and exciting things, so no need to be simple or traditional!)

2) Whats the best thing that happened to you this past weekend?

3) What's your favorite story involving your beloved furry pets?! Extra points for hilarity.

4) What would you like to see posts about here on the blog? (Photos, stories, thoughts, throwbacks, new stuff...)

No really. I expect you all to answer. Nessa has Fringe/ Hero/ X-Men/ Lady Gaga -esque telepathic powers. She can make your brain shrivel to the size of a grape if you don't answer! Ouchees! See? I have proof!

Blog Hop: Feelin good....

Besides the new poll to the right......(MMMmmmm breakfast!)....

Blog hop this week. "Anything that feels good." And let me tell you, it felt good to ignore that laundry as long as all three kitties weren't hissing at each other and enjoying the warmth of fresh laundry together....

Hopping the Blog Train!

I'm trying this Blog Hop for the first time today. I found it awhile ago, but never felt called to answer the theme. But today, I feel I should. The theme of the week is: "Three Things Parents Should Teach Their Kids" and as someone who would rather dig out their own kidney than have kids, I think an outsider perspective might be nice...

"Three Things Parents Should Teach Their Kids..."

1. Quit licking everything. Going to the store watching the kid with the monkey leash/backpack lick everything in sight makes me want to puke. To think that I might eventually touch that cart or hanger or door knob. Unless you are attempting to infect your child with swine flu, step number one is to get their mouth off of anything that isn't digestable.

2. They actually aren't any more special than anyone else. Just because Mommy and Daddy love you and spoil you rotten, doesn't mean the center of the universe revolves around you in the middle of the supermarket. Not getting your Dora the Explorer Chocolate Bar because you hit Baby Tommy upside the head for looking at you weird is not the end of the world. This attitude is what forms supermodels, pageant queens, and all around diva bitches.

3. Life doesn't get better as you get older.Let's face it, we all would trade places with the kid that believes in Santa and happily twirls in ignorance and bliss. If the worst thing in your day is a crust on peanut butter sandwiches, I think your life is pretty swank.



Special thanks to Shoplet.com-Purell Hand Sanitizers for sponsoring this blog hop.