Tres cookies

Some days I just got it.... some days I don't.  I would say that I have had about a week's worth of days that I haven't had "it", but starting last night, I got it back.  I started by making cookie dough for three different test recipes.  I started with a recipe online and tweaked it several times for both taste and altitude and ended up with what I am calling my Creamsicle cookies.

After making these, which by the way, are so yummy, I started the dough for citrus butter cookies.  I originally called them orange snaps but had to change it for two reasons.  For one, I add both orange and lemon to them and secondly, because I always think of ginger snaps when I hear "snaps".  They taste nothing like snaps, they taste just like butter - mmmmm!!!!

Finally, I took a wonderful recipe for chocolate chip cookies that my lovely friend Noelle gave me and changed that too.  Sorry, Noelle.  I had all this orange zest and OJ concentrate left over, so I decided to experiment with it.  I, personally, love orange and chocolate together... maybe that is just me.  I ended up with beautiful chocolate chip cookies with just a hint of orange taste to them.  

You may ask, "What's the big deal??? So you made so flippin'  cookies."  Well, here's the big deal.  I haven't baked in about a month, so for me, it was great to have the motivation back.  Also, I think I stopped baking partly because of this altitude thing.  If any of you bake, you know it is nothing like cooking.  Baking is all about precision and accuracy.  I have done alright since moving to 6000 ft, but not superb.  These cookies mark a turning point for me.  I think I finally have it down.  

I think the girls and Mark are happy about all of this.  For dessert tonight, they had... you guessed it, cookies!!!  Well, ice cream sandwiches made from the butter cookies and birthday ice cream.  From these messy faces, I am guessing they liked them.

Hail damage...

Ok, so I usually refer to the cellulite on my legs as hail damage, but this time it is for real!  Mark had the two big girls at work with him.  I took Piper on errands and then brought her home for a nap.  I was finally going to get a nap myself - YES!!!!!!!!  I can't tell you how wonderful it was to fall asleep without hearing Regan and Delaney arguing or playing loudly.  I think I got about 15 minutes and then was abruptly awoken.  I sincerely thought  we were having an earthquake.  It was one of the loudest things I have heard in a long time.  When I sprung out of bed and ran to the window, I realized that it was the famous Colorado hail storms I had been hearing out.

This is not Florida size hail - this is golf-ball size hail and it is hard.  It sounded like rocks hitting all of our wonderful sky lights and picture windows.  I thought it was going to break something. I ran and closed all the doors and windows that were open.  The day had been so nice and cool.  I immediately  called Mark and told him not to come home yet.  The hail lasted for about 5 minutes, so what did I do???  I ran and got my camera, of course!

Here are some shots of the damage and hail.  The first one is the hail that piled up against the garage door.  The rest are shots of the damage to our back deck, including, boo-hoo, my rose bush.

The best part of the whole event is that while we were checking out the damage, we could hear the tornado sirens going off in northern Denver.  We knew it wasn't for our area but we still took advantage of the situation.  We told the girls to run down to the basement for safety.  We have now quietly enjoyed the last 30 minutes.  Ahh.... This excuse might work for the next few days.

The fluffiest buttermilk pancakes ever - blueberry, chocolate chip or sprinkles

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons sweetner (sugar, agave, Splenda)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk (I recommend whole or 2%)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Optional mix-ins

1/4 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen

1/4 cup chocolate chips

sprinkles

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. lemon or orange extract

Directions

1. Preheat your griddle over medium heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sweetner, baking powder and soda, and salt). In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter). 
3. When you are ready to make the pancakes, pour you wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir  until they are just mixed.  
4. At this point, I separate the mixture into different bowls for the different children.  In one bowl, I add about 1 cup of batter and 1/4 cup of blueberries.  In another bowl, I add 1 cup of batter and the chocolate chips.  In the remainder of the batter, I add the vanilla and lemon or orange extract.  
5. Use about 1/3 to 1/2 cup to make each pancake, flipping when the batter starts to bubble slightly around the edges.  Turn and cook for a couple more minutes or until cooked throughout.  To make the sprinkle pancakes, scoop your pancake mix onto the griddle, sprinkle the goodies on top and then flip when ready.  
6. ENJOY!

This makes a lot of pancakes - plenty to freeze and enjoy on another day.

A perk to living on the mountain side

I was having a particularly bad afternoon/evening today.  I was just tense and anxious about a quilt that I am working on.  I cannot get the tension right or the thread.  I was trying to use the "clear" thread on the top and brown in the bobbin.  Well, that never worked out for me.  Then I tried white on the top and brown for the back - I still couldn't get the thread to meet evenly in the battting.  I am blaming the batting at this point.  I bought extra lofty batting instead of my normal stuff.  I am just not experienced enough yet to make it work.

Anyway, so I had to rip out a bunch of quilting and figure out how to quilt it.  Mark graciously took the kids outside after we got home from dinner.  He had them out there for a long time - at least an hour.  As I yanked and ripped at my bad quilting attempt, I continued to get more upset until my girls walked in with these...

They picked them right outside our front door - well, ok... maybe across the street from our front door, but that would be the mountain side.  They are gorgeous.  We all may have hay fever in the morning, but in the meantime, they are a beautiful addition to the kitchen nook table.  THANKS GIRLS - and Mark for supervising!  That made my night!

My first custom quilt SOLD - I couldn't be happier!!!!

I can't believe that I started something as a hobby and already had a chance to make a little money doing it.  I will be happy if I can pay for my personal fabric and the small loan from my hubby used to purchase my new machine.  I love the time I get to spend in front of sewing machine, though my kids may think I am ignoring them some.  I am not sure that is a bad thing though.  I think it is important they see me doing something I enjoy.  They don't need 100% of my attention 100% of the time - they need to learn that they can't be the center of my universe all the time (even if they are...).

Anyway, here are some photos of the new quilt.  It was sent to my friend Sheralyn over the weekend.  She should have it by the end of the week.  I can't wait to see what she thinks.  She picked out the pattern herself from Moda Bake Shop by John Cary, the Quilt Dad and her fabric was Botany by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda.  I made her a little extra gift out of some of  her left over fabric.

I was a little hesitant to start it, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it might be.  Come to find out, I am really good at following directions - who knew???

Why do I even bother?

I am not sure how it works in other people's homes, but I have decided that I should never put away my vacuum cleaner.  Yesterday, I vacuumed and mopped no less than three times.  I want to preface this by saying that I used to be a neat/clean freak, but living with Mark and three girls that have a tendency to follow in his footsteps, has cured me of that.  I still LOVE, let me spell it out for you again L - O - V - E, a clean house, but it just ain't gonna happen 'round here.  IF my house has ever been clean all at once, the stains on the carpet or couch tell a completely different story of  our lives.

So, yesterday started off like most other days, I drag the out the vacuum and get started.  I clean the dog hair out of the kitchen area because, well frankly, yuck!  I then vacuum the floor in front of and behind the couch which is a magnet for crumbs.  I have asked a million times that food be eaten in the kitchen, but they love to have their breakfast of champions, frozen waffles, on the couch in front of the TV.  Since I am usually still in bed when all this happens, I am not there to remind them.  Morning vacuuming DONE!  Then I have to mop because of the awful white tile in the kitchen and nook area.

Despite the threats to their lives, the kids CANNOT stay off a wet floor.  My gosh, man!... how do your little feet get dirt on them?  You went from the bath to your bed to downstairs.  I know my carpets aren't that dirty.

So back to the floors.... so once I have vacuumed and mopped and they have tromped on them, I, of course, have to mop them again and thus repeats the pattern.  I finally get them dry and clean.  I put the vacuum away, I empty the mop water and think I might get to sit down.  Nope, the dog drinks her water.  The dog tracks her water through the kitchen.  The kids walk through the kitchen with those mysteriously dirty feet again.  I promise myself I will leave the floors alone until after lunch.

Lunch, vacuum and then mop.  Repeat at dinner.  Why do I even bother to empty the water - well, because it is gross, right?  Why do I even bother to put away the vacuum?  Because, eventually, a child will trip over it, right?  Wish I had more answers.  Until then, I am buying stock in Pine Sol.

I have taken a little hiatus for the last week or so.  I have been upset and busy.  Upset because my sewing machine broke and busy because I realized I probably needed a newer and/or better one for the quilting I plan on doing.  The machine I got from my friend Kristen is a great machine, I just don't know that it was heavy duty enough for the quilting process.  I broke the bobbin case last week and have been patiently waiting on a new one that arrived yesterday.  In the meantime, I found a new sewing machine that I have bought.  It is the Pfaff Quilt Expression 2.0.  It quilts like a dream.  It took me an hour to finish the entire quilt I had been working on prior to the breakage.  Before that, it took me two hours just to finish one little strip.  If I had to rely on the old machine for free motion quilting, I wouldn't be doing free motion quilting at all.  I could stick to other types of quilting but I do love the way free motion looks and also how it hides little imperfections in your seaming.

Anyway, I am super happy with my new machine... I just have to take some classes on a few of the neat little tricks it can do...

Blogworthy...

At dinner, we have a strict no-potty talk rule in place.  I am a little embarrassed to say that it is usually my hubby, Mark, that breaks that rule.  I believe it was his instigating a very young Delaney that required it be put in place.  I sort of blew it off as "he's just a boy" and moved on.

Occasionally, I have to remind him and Delaney that this rule is still in place - much to their disappointment.  Those of you that know Delaney recognize that I need that rule in place for the both of them, seeing as how they are cut from the same mold and all...

Well, tonight was especially interesting and funny (I admit that grudgingly).  Who knows how the conversation got started, but it ended with Mark saying to Delaney that if she didn't do something he was going to fart on her.  Well, she didn't do it, and he turned his back to her and, yes, farted on her.  HUGE SIGH from me...  He then proceeded to run from her and she, of course, chased him around the house.  Well, then, my lovely and usually well mannered 3 year old couldn't help herself.  She walked over to Delaney and said, "How about this?" and proceeded to also fart on Delaney.  Another chase ensued.  Another BIG SIGH from me, but this time I had to laugh hysterically.  I couldn't believe that my 3 year old possessed the bodily control to produce a fart on-demand.

Those of my friends with boys - you thought it was only you, right????