Monthly Archives: July 2008

Jul 13

Gold Star Days

About a month ago, my Mom read a great article about driving less and simple ways that we could take steps to help save our Planet. One of the items that she liked best was avoiding driving your car or cars for one day a week, and how much just one day without driving would greatly cut down on pollution. With $4.00+ gas it would also save a little in the gas tank too.

She commutes and I stay home, but we both decided to take the driving one day less challenge. I’ve also decided to keep track of my no driving days for the month of July. I’m using gold stars on the calendar, and so far I’m up to 4 days without driving or riding in a car. I hope to add many more stars to the calendar, and lighten my carbon footprint a little along the way.

Jul 12

Pennies, Pennies Everywhere

This week there has been a lot going on in our little town. The Guinness Book of World Records has been visiting, and overseeing a 40 mile chain of pennies. The town has been collecting the pennies for over a year in an attempt set a new World Record for the fastest Penny Chain built, and the longest Penny Chain. The pennies are also being used to fund much needed additions to a local park. If enough funds are raised we will have new playgrounds, beach volleyball pits, and a miniature golf course.

Thade and I visited the site yesterday, and it was so cool to see all of the pennies. There was quite a turn out too, even though the temps were pretty high. There was also a community dinner and a fireworks display. I hope that the Penny Chain makes it in to the Record books, and I’m looking forward to the mini golf!

Jul 11

Garden Check In All A-Bloom

With the rainy weather the baskets and veggie plants are happy and blooming.

But with the good, comes the buggy. Some mean little bug is devouring my Green Bean plants… Next year I’ll research my garden plan better, and make sure and attract some good bugs that will eat these bad bugs. Oh well, I hope to get a little Organic Produce out of this garden.

Jul 10

Take Along Treats

Yesterday we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. I asked if I could bring a dessert, and she said sure. I had a few new recipes that I wanted to try out. I’m trying to phase cake mixes and pre-made icing out of my pantry. I want to learn how to make both of these items from scratch.

I picked out a recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes and Vanilla Frosting to bring for dessert. I got out the stand mixer and attempted the frosting first.

This frosting was so fun to make. I softened the butter just a bit, and I let the frosting whip for a good 15-20 minutes. The result was a beautiful, light, fluffy frosting, that even Thade approved of! It was a little more expensive than the pre-made, but well worth it.

Feeling pretty good about the frosting, I was moving on to the cupcakes. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about tackling the batter. I’ve always used a cake mix, but I had everything in my pantry to make them from scratch. I did have a back-up recipe planned, just in cast the cupcakes failed miserably.

I did alter the recipe just a bit… I omitted the 2 extra (whole) eggs, and added in extra vanilla. The cupcakes were so soft and whoa baby they were tasty. They were sweet even without the frosting. Cake mixes might just make an exit from the pantry as long as I can find a tasty recipe for Chocolate Cake and Yellow cake too…

I let the cupcakes cool, and while Dylan was taking a nap, I thought it would be fun for Thade and I to Frost the cupcakes together. I also thought it would be cool to dye the icing a few pastel colors. Thade picked Green, Blue, Pink, and Purple.

I had envisioned a plan of Thade helping out with Frosting the cupcakes, but once he realized that he could sample one of the cupcakes, he grabbed his cupcake, and left Mommy to decorate. He did sit still long enough to finish off the Frosting in the bowl.

I decorated the cupcakes with sprinkles… Who could resist a cupcake with sprinkles? My favorite was the pink frosted cupcake with chocolate sprinkles.

I took two plates of cupcakes to my friend’s house, and we were all treated to four delicious homemade pizzas for dinner, too tasty! My friend makes a super tasty veggie pizza that was topped with fresh basil from her organic garden, super yum. The kiddos tore into the cupcakes after dinner, and the from scratch recipe was a success! I’ll be baking these again, and working on a tasty chocolate frosting too.

Jul 9

Here Comes the Rain

Yesterday the rain was here all day.

The kiddos watched outside, and the kitty took a long nap.

I took advantage of the rainy day and washed 4 loads of laundry, made a big batch of Turkey stock for the freezer, and baked a double batch of Banana Muffins (Dylan’s favorite). All in all it was a great day to stay in!