Well, That Was Random

When my kids grow up, we'll sit around and reminisce, and tell stories about how we would hide in my bedroom from the Jehovah Witnesses. Today they knocked on the door for five minutes (I'm not exaggerating!). I usually talk to them...They are always really friendly even though I'm not joining their compound...It's 11:30 am and I'm still in my jammies and it would be nice if they would call first...I know this doesn't resemble a knee, but it is. More importantly, it's my knee. This is the worst bruise I think I've ever had to endure. I got it falling of a teeter totter thingee at Southwest Park. It doesn't hurt. It's just ugly. Does that mean I have some weird disease in which one doesn't feel bruises?...

Here is an old picture of Molly walking through Hunter's Honey Farm with Wyatt Sell. I think this was two years ago. They were five. Monica Merritt got really jealous and walked up to Molly and said, "We need to talk." Isn't that cute and hilarious.

Oh, no... I think the Jehovah Witnesses are back...This is like a reverse fire drill...

Here is a picture of the first year we were in White River, taken at American Girl Club. Morgan, Calla, Allie, Carrie, and Grace. That was the most fun year! Every New Year's Eve I have a New Year's Prayer instead of a resolution. I have gotten a yes to my requests every year, except for 2006, when I prayed for a stronger marriage (giggle). The year this picture was taken I prayed for friends for Calla and me. We weren't grounded in a church anywhere and it was really hard not to have Christian fellowship. God was so faithful to us in the friends department. I wouldn't have gotten through 2006 without them...

Monday, Emily stopped by for a while to have tea (believe it or not). I made cancer s'mores (microwaved). This is the only picture I can find of Emily. I'll get one of her making coffee on Sunday. This was about a year ago. Who looks this good after delivering? This was my first encounter with Ian Scott. The last time I was at his house, he said my name...

Last night Molly helped me make my version of Olive Garden's sausage and peppers. I'll post the recipe tomorrow. The rest of the day holds more math lessons...coffee/devotion time by myself at Starbucks...dinner with my kids...

smooch

Nicky's Fresh Salsa (mild)

8 medium tomatoes (normal for grocery store/medium out of the garden)

1/2 red onion

2 ancient red peppers

3 tablespoons garlic (from the little glass jars)

Whole bunch of cilantro (tops only)

1 lime

Salt to taste

Core tomatoes. Peel lime. Throw it all in the processor together. Add salt slowly. The amount of salt seems to be the key difference in how people like this recipe. Kinda stir it around and pick out any lime seeds you may see or offer a prize to any one who finds one - more salsa. The lime pulp is good for you and keep your salsa twice as fresh as the juice alone.

Apple Dumplings

I've eaten so many of these things in the past 18 hours that I can't get my jeans buttoned. I don't know if you have had my Ugly Pumpkin Pie Muffins. They were pretty dern good, but this recipe blows them out of the oven. I don't have pretty pictures of this concoction, because I ate them all before it occurred to me to take a picture of them. If you want to see what the look like you can go over to Pioneer Woman Cooks and see them.

Here's what your gonna do: (I highlighted the ingredients for your shopping list)

Take 2 large granny smith apples, peel them, and slice them into 8 equal wedges.

Butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Then take two cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls. Roll each apple wedge up all nice and cozy in a crescent and place them in two nice neat rows in the casserole dish.

Melt 2 sticks of butter and stir in a dash of vanilla and 1 &1/2 cups of sugar. Mix it slightly and pour over the sleeping apples.

I thought this next step was really weird, but you know how well they turned out, so go with it. Take a 1/2 can of Mountain Dew and pour it around the edge of the dish and down the middle.

Then Sprinkle with Cinnamon (lots of it) and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

I know you are all sitting on the edge of you seat to find out about the missing gummy bear. If you are just now tuning in make sure you read the first installment. It's right below this one. Down there. Do you see it? Smooch.

The New Rootbeer Float

Jonathan Swift, the author of the beloved children's novel Gulliver's Travels, once said, "Necessity is the mother of invention." (You would not believe how long it took me to find out who said that quote. Then I couldn't remember who he was. So, I had to google him. That's bad isn't it.) I would have to say in my case, sheer brilliance is the mother of invention. If someone else came up with this absolutely, fabulous recipe, I don't want to hear about it. It's my invention. Just like the salsa recipe. Mine, you hear me?

Being recently introduced into the world of soy milk, I decided to start with the vanilla flavor. It is one of the best things I've ever tasted. I kept thinking how much it tasted like Chick-fil-A's icedream. Bingo. Ding. Ding. Ding. Lightbulb moment! So try this out y'all, a half a glass of vanilla soy milk and a half a glass of rootbeer (I like Barq's after a rough day. I like Mugs any other time.) It foams up just a float. Tastes great! You can even do diet rootbeer and fat reduced vanilla soy milk. Let me know what you think.

P.S. Drink immediatly. If you don't the milk and the soda will separate and it looks really yucky. Still tastes good though.