I'm A Big Kid Now!!

This past weekend I turned 33, and I celebrated like every adult woman should - by throwing myself an 8-year girl's birthday party!!

And it was awesome!!

There are several rules that should be followed when throwing yourself the party of an 8-year old.

#1 rule - NO BOYS ALLOWED!  
I'm not anti-men by any means, and I love my husband and my boys with all my heart - but sometimes you just need girl time, so I took this rule very seriously.  While Dave stayed home with the kids I hit the town with 7 of my closest girlfriends and we giggled and laughed and filled the car with tales of extreme estrogen and it was glorious.

#2 rule - I'LL TAKE FRIES WITH THAT!
When I was growing up my idea of a huge birthday treat was going to McDonald's... my tastes have grown up a little since then but sometimes nothing beats a great burger joint.  So we hit up Red Robin - a place with truly magnificent fries and where even at 33 you'll still get balloons and be sung to by the wait staff (which I would have been REALLY okay without) but my fish n' chips made it worth it.

Me and my girls at Red Robin

Did I mention they make you wear the balloons on your head while they sing to you?

#3 rule - EMBRACE YOUR INNER CHILD!
Ever since my sister went roller skating for Valentines Day I'd been longing to let my inner skater child out to play ~ luckily my girlfriends were all up for it too and so we went prepared to laugh at ourselves (and each other) and no matter what, stick together for moral and perhaps real life support too.  Turns out skating is a little bit like riding a bicycle... you never really forget but you might start out a little wobbly.  That doesn't mean you won't feel every muscle as you work away around the rink... 'cause oh my... you will... my hips, my knees, my ankles all protested loudly but I reminded them they were pretending to be 8 and that shut them up enough to keep going.

Ready to get our skate on!

I had no idea that roller skating rinks were becoming so popular again, or perhaps they never lost their draw and I was just oblivious... the place was packed out with all ages represented and all clothing "styles" too... we had a good time laughing at a group who'd come in "disco" attire courtesy of goodwill.

My girls represented well too:  Enjoy their best skating poses.

Amy the "Atta-Tude"

"Punky Bruiser" Halverson

Superaina

"Cole-inator"

Tricialicious

and yours truly - the birthday ballerina!

It was so much fun.  We enjoyed the music, the people watching, we marveled at the group of people break dancing in the middle of the rink with the crazy skills, and the little7-year old kid who was out-skating everyone else and weaving in and out of people doing all sorts of fancy tricks.  We laughed, we ached, we made fun of ourselves and amazingly enough we managed to go the entire night without falling flat on our behinds.  I call that a success!!

Fabulous cheap entertainment - thanks Oaks Park!

#4 rule - DON'T SKIP DESSERT!

After all that exercise skating,  I felt we more than earned the right to eat dessert.  So on our way home we stopped at Yo Top It, a new frozen yogurt joint to reward ourselves for doing so well.

Hello lovely - you were delicious!!

It was the perfect end to a great night out.  Who knows, maybe I'll turn 8 again next year too!

The Fight That Wasn't!

Last week I got in a terrible fight with my best friend.

I would have much more upset about it if I'd known we were fighting, but I was oblivious.  You see the fight only happened on one end. 

The cause? A text message!


Meet my beautiful sister, Jodi - (AKA my best friend).

Aren't we adorable!

We're texters!

I'm a big fan of technology and the ease of things like email, IM, facebook, texting... this blog.  But you have to admit the typed word, especially in today's rushed "texting lingo" can make things a bit tricky, especially when you don't hear the emotion and fluctuation in people's voices. It leaves a lot up to interpretation and that sometimes is the problem!

Last week Jodi and I were working on a project together that was somewhat time sensitive.  I was at work so Jodi was running around town picking up things we needed and we were communicating back and forth via text message.  One particular item was not at any of the normal stops we make, so she sent me a text suggesting a different store, and she asked me to text her "no" if I thought it would be a waste of her time.

At least that's how I interpreted the message (big mistake).

I knew the store she was referring to wouldn't carry what we were looking for, so I texted back, "No - just come back here."

But instead of the standard, "okay, see you soon" or something similar - I got this:

"That was really rude!"

I was befuddled... how on earth was that rude?  I was trying to save her a trip for goodness sake!!  I remember thinking to myself, "then why did you ask if you didn't really want an answer?"  I was confused by her response but I was busy at work and so I didn't respond and I also did not notice that I didn't hear from her again after that.

Silence from talkative sister... not a good thing (duh Kelly, you know this!!)

About 40 minutes later she arrived at my office and walked in, visibly irritated with me. Turns out Jodi was actually asking for the NUMBER of the store, not a yes or no answer.  My response came off completely rude, very bossy and not at all helpful to her when she was doing us both a big favor.

Oops - abbreviations are tricky!!

She was so mad at me by the time she arrived at my office she didn't even want to talk to me, and I was clueless.  Fortunately it was realized very quickly what had happened, and then we both laughed... a lot!!!

Oh the dangers of texting!!!

I'm just glad she loves me again.
And to stay on the safe side... next time we'll call.

What I Love Wednesday

Today my post is about my boys. 

I love that they're brothers. 
I love that they can play together.
I love that they have a best friend to grow up with.

Sure, I know as they grow older they'll have their rough patches and their fights - they may even have a time or two when they think they don't like each other much - but they'll always have one another, and that makes me happy.

Last night they were playing in the living room and Dave and I were just enjoying watching the two of them together.  NO ONE can make Elijah laugh harder than Hayden.  He adores his older brother, and Hayden LOVES the attention he gets from his younger brother when he does something Elijah likes...which apparently is everything.  And the laughter is infectious.

So, for your viewing pleasure today... my boys - being brothers!

"How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!"

Psalm 133:1

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Tasty Tuesday - Chipotle Lime Fish Tacos

I'm a fan of the taco!  Fill it with taco meat, chicken, shredded beef, even shrimp on occasion and I'm good with it, but for some reason whenever I heard the word "fish" combined with taco... I shivered in imagined disgust.

Then I went to Cabo San Lucas on my honeymoon and ate at a little stand called "El Taco Loco" where my mind was changed.  Oh and I must give credit to my darling husband for forcing coercing enticing me to try them.

When I was pregnant with Elijah I craved fish taco's like crazy, so I found this recipe that has become a favorite.  I combine it with my avocado corn salsa and oh wow... HEAVEN!!

I started with making the salsa and set it aside.  Well, I meant to set it aside, but what really happened was that it was snatched by the hubby who started eating it with tortilla chips at the table while I cooked the rest of dinner.  Good thing I made a big batch!!

Next comes the chipotle lime sauce.  You'll need:  sour cream, one can of chipolte peppers in adoba sauce, cumin, chili powder, 1 lime.

Add 1 cup of sour cream to a small bowl.

Next add a heaping spoon of the adoba sauce from the chipotle pepper can.  I don't actually use the peppers at all - and this sauce packs a MIGHTY punch, so start with one spoon and work your way up.  Even Dave who really likes heat didn't have me add much more than this!

Mix your sour cream and adoba sauce together and add the zest of one lime (approx 2 teaspoons) and the juice of the lime too.

Add one teaspoon of ground cumin.

And one teaspoon of chili powder.  Mix it all together and set aside.

Now for the fish.  I use tilapia - it's a great versatile mild white fish, and I highly recommend white fish for fish tacos.  This was 3 fillets worth.

I chopped mine in bite size pieces and rolled it in some fish fry, but you could simply season with some taco seasoning, do a panko breading or whatever floats your boat.

I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and fried the fish up really quick.  Tilapia cooks very quickly so it was probably less than 3 minutes per side.

Then the fun part... add your fish, spoon on some the chipotle sauce, add your salsa and EAT UP!!

Enjoy!  We sure did!!

CHIPOTLE LIME FISH TACOS:

Chipotle Lime Sauce:

8oz sour cream

1-2 tablespoons of adoba sauce from a can of chipotle peppers.

zest & juice of one lime

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of chili powder

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.  

Recommendation:  Start with 1 tablespoon of adoba sauce and increase to your preferred heat level.

Fish:

3-4 Tilapia fillets (or similar white fish)

Fish fry or seasoning for fish.

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Corn or flour tortillas

Chop your fillets into bite sized pieces.  Roll them in fish fry, season with taco seasoning or panko bread crumbs.  Heat oil in a skillet and cook fish through.

Serve immediately on corn or flour tortillas.  Smother with chipotle sauce and avocado corn salsa or shredded cabbage, lettuce - whatever your heart desires!!

LAYING DOWN ON THE JOB

I've been slacking on my blog lately, and I blame it entirely on my new bed.  I just want to lay down all the time, go to bed early, sleep in late, take a nap, and then catch a few winks, get my beauty rest and after all that sleep some more.   To say I'm enjoying my new bed would be a gross understatement!

The last time I owned a "new" mattress was 1988 and I was 10 - and it was a bunkbed I shared with my sister.  Hardly life-changing.

My first "big" bed was a full-size I inherited from my Nanna when we moved to the States.  The bed once belonged to my father when he was a teenager so in mattress years, it was about 500 years old.  Looking back now I don't know how I ever slept on that thing, but since Dave only owned a twin, that same bed followed me into our marriage.  Our first Christmas together Dave bought me a 1" memory foam topper and I remember thinking how luxurious it made our bed feel.  Haha... that feeling didn't last long.

Two years into our marriage a couple in our church blessed us with a queen mattress set they'd had in their guest room.  What a huge step up it was from the full - and not just in size.  Oh how we loved that bed...at first!  Our memory foam topper followed us onto the queen even though it was only a full size - and so we entered the "lip" stage of sleeping where you needed to stay in the middle or you fell off the edge of the topper which was a good 2" too short on either side and almost half a foot in length - in essence ruining the fact that we owned a queen.  Even though I would pull it all the way up to the headboard it would travel down to the foot of the bed leaving an obnoxious split level effect for your head.  1-inch of height may not seem like much, but let me tell you it's a noticeable difference for your head.

The old bed

The other problem we had with the mattress topper was that it was a temptation to my first-born, who eats weird things...like foam  (we don't own Nerf toys for a good reason around here.)  One day while I was washing our sheets I came back into my room to find he'd taken a huge bite out of the mattress... I just rejoiced it was on Dave's side.

Foam - it's what's for dinner!

So four years later we finally decided that it was time to buy a real bed.  If you think about the fact that you spend a third of your life sleeping, a decent mattress that allows you to get a good night's sleep without waking up with aches and pains is a smart investment, but it still took us a long time to decide to actually do it.

This past Wednesday our new bed arrived.  Along with the mattress we bought new sheets (800 thread count Egyptian cotton) and I am loving both!!

That's 13" of memory foam people... with NO LIP!!

I'm so in love with my new bed I don't even care how much taller it is, and how it hides almost all our headboard (especially when we add linens).  Or how short it now makes our night stands - so what if the top of my lamp is now level with my pillow and that I can't see my alarm clock anymore - I'm sleeping GREAT!!!

And if you'll excuse me now... I think it's time I crawl back into that bed of mine... by golly it's almost 9:00pm... and I'm missing out on valuable sleeping time!

Sweet dreams!

The World's Best Carrot Cake

Wednesday, March 11, 1992.  A day that shall go down in history as far as my tastebuds are concerned. 

I remember the day well.  It was my first birthday spent in the United States (we'd moved from New Zealand just two months prior) and my parents let me get my ears double pierced (big deal then).  I was also dealing with some minor attitude issues as a result of moving halfway around the world against my will and leaving my friends, my school and half my family behind.  (Okay, I was a total stinker-butt and set about everyday to make sure people knew that I DIDN'T WANT TO BE THERE!!)

But my dear, sweet, kind and very patient Nanna, in an attempt to make my birthday special baked me this cake.  I know I didn't act very enthused about it - I'm one of those strange people that really has NEVER liked cake (and I mentioned the bad attitude right?!), but out of politeness (or because my parents made me) I tried a piece... and my world was changed forever!

Okay, well at least my view towards the dessert world!

So if you love cake.  If you loathe cake.  If you swear you'd never eat anything with carrots - try this.  You can thank me (and my Nanna) later!

THE WORLD'S BEST CARROT CAKE  (for regular recipe scroll to the bottom)

 

Here's what you need:  Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, sugar, oil, eggs & a can of crushed pineapple.

Here's what you DON'T need:  Walnuts or raisins.  People who tell you these belong in carrot cake are wrong.  Sorry if you're one of those wrong people. And yes I'm opinionated.. I wouldn't have called this the world's best carrot cake if it needed extra ingredients!!

Start by measuring out 2 cups of flour in a large bowl.  I used my KitchenAid because I have one, but I made this cake for 18 years without a stand mixer and it was still very easy.

If it makes you feel better to sift the dry ingredients together, be my guest.  But I don't do that.

 Next add 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

 And 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda.

 1 teaspoon of salt.  I used kosher salt, but regular ol' table salt works fine too.

Now add in two teaspoons of cinnamon. 

And mix it all together.

  Now add 2 cups of sugar.

 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil.

 And four eggs.

Mix it all together until the eggs are well blended.

You're almost done.  Now add 2 cups of grated carrot.  I love buying the pre-shredded carrot in the bag, but my local grocery store was out so I had to grate regular ol' carrots the old fashioned way.

Lastly, and DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, empty in a can of crushed pineapple with all the juice and combine everything together.  The pineapple is a key ingredient here! 

 Pour your batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 40-45 minutes at 350'.

NOTE:  If at the end of the baking time the  middle of the cake still seems a bit wobbly... do not fear.  It will set up and be the moistest, tastiest, most amazingly delicious thing your mouth has ever encountered in the cake realm.

Allow the cake to cool completely... it will be hard and take a great amount of self-control because the smell is out of this world, but trying to frost this cake while it's still warm will result in little brown flecks of cake in your frosting (see picture above... see, I lack self control - don't be like me!)

I made this particular cake for my friend Angey's birthday that we celebrated at our Tuesday night Bible study, AKA Butter Lover's Club.  I was a bit embarrassed about my frosting job, so I covered it with fruit spelled out in her name.  Fruit letters always make people forget that you're not a good froster... or that you lacked self-control in the waiting to frost department!  Instead they just scream "I'm a fun, cute cake."

The truth is though, you could do the world's most horrific frosting job and once you cut into this fabulous cake, you'll forget all about the aesthetics.   Sooooooo good!  

Go try it.

I mean it.

Right now!

WORLD'S BEST CARROT CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 cups grated carrot

1 can of crushed pineapple with juice

Directions:

1.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together.

2.  Add sugar, oil and eggs and mix.

3.  Add carrots & pineapple and combine by hand.

4.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350'F for 40-45 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Ingredients:

1 package of cream cheese

1 lb powdered sugar

1 4oz stick of butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp milk

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and beat until desired consistency.

TO LISA WITH LOVE

Today I received a distraught phone call from a long-time friend.  She left a message with the receptionist at my work asking me to call her as soon as possible, and to please tell me these three words...

"YOU'RE KILLING ME!"

My insanely vivid imagination instantly went into a frenzy as I imagined all the possible scenarios in my mind of why she'd so desperately need to get in touch with me.  She NEVER calls me at work.  Had I done something?  Said something?  Was she still holding a grudge over the last time I was in her neighborhood and didn't stop by to see her. Or maybe it was something different...was she okay?  Was she ill?  Did something happen to her parents??

After several rounds of phone tag with me getting more and more anxious, we finally connected and it turns out my dear friend (who's also 6 months pregnant) was in fact just craving some sweets - and my mention of no-bake cookies without posting the recipe was putting her over the edge.  So much so, that she called to threaten she'd never read my blog again if I didn't start sharing the goods!  And I'm a people pleaser... I can't handle that kind of rejection!

So Lisa... here's my recipe for no-bake cookies.  I'm sorry I didn't take step-by-step pictures for you, but here's the chocolately-peanut-buttery goodness all broke down for you!

NO BAKE COOKIES:

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oatmeal

Directions:
1.  In a medium saucepan combine sugar, butter, milk & cocoa powder together. 
2.  Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.
3.  Add vanilla, salt, peanut butter & oatmeal.  Mix well to combine.
4.  Drop spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet or parchment paper.  Allow to cool and set.



And Lisa, because I love you ~ stay tuned tomorrow for my recipe (and pictures) of the world's best carrot cake!!