Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wednesday's Word

Butter, noun. A pale yellow fatty substance made by churning cream and then used as a spread or in cooking.

Owen's usage: That's my butter and Timmy.

Hehe!!! He meant "brother".

Thursday, June 19, 2008

What Year Is It Now?


Last night Holden and I watched the Greatest Songs of the 80's on VH1. He was less than impressed, but I was repeatedly thrown back in time to 1984... 1987... 1981. Each song had a memory. The first time I saw the Jump video and laughed hysterically at Diamond Dave. The drama of middle school and Every Rose Has It's Thorn. Man... I wished I had pink frost lipstick just like Bret's... if Mom would only let me wear it! Discovering a truly legendary song on U2's Joshua Tree album in the back of my best friend's Dad's Suburban on the way to King's Island.

Then this picture was on my phone when I got up this morning...


It was taken LAST NIGHT at where else.... Wal-Mart? The 80's Lady (as she is affectionately nicknamed) is a late-night regular at the local Wal-Mart and a true character of Clarksville. This is how she dresses always. She is not ashamed. The 80's must have been totally awesome to her! When there's a sighting it's an event and sneaky cell phone picture is a plus!

So while Holden rolls his eyes at the big hair, synthesizers, and dudes that look like ladies I just have one thing to say... "LONG LIVE THE 80'S!" (at least in the aisles of Wal-Mart).

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Wednesday's Word

Appreciate, verb. To recognize the full worth of something; to be grateful for.

Owen's usage: I 'pprecate you playing with me Holden.

If a two-year old can be appreciative then we can too. Tell someone that you are grateful for them and the things they do. It will make them feel good and it will benefit you too!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

From Chloe's Kitchen: Enchilada Sauce

Our family LOVES Mexican food... fresh mex, tex-mex, dead mex (Granny's term for the cookie-cutter, Mexican-American owned restaurants in nearly every strip mall in America). We love eating it out; even Taco Bell! I love to cook it. And Thursday is usually Mexican night.

One super simple thing I like to make is enchiladas or burritos. They aren't spectacular; just easy! Of course the thing that makes them extra yummy is the sauce. I hate buying overpriced bottled sauce. Sure it's the convenient thing to do, but once you know what goes into making it you realize how much they mark that stuff up. I have tried several recipes in search of one that really makes me happy and I finally found one.

  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 4 Tbs Gebhardt Chili Powder (I used what I had in the spice cabinet)
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 heaping tsp. garlic powder (with no salt added)
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon (less than 1/16 tsp.)
  • 1/3 tsp. sugar
  • 5 Tbs. cold water
  • 5 Tbs. white flour
Directions:

In a 2 quart sauce pan add the chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, salt, cinnamon and sugar (the sugar is a little secret to eliminate any bitter taste from the chili powder).

Use a whisk to mix everything well. Heat to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil and cook for 3 minutes.

Whisk frequently to make sure all spices dissolve. This is important for flavor and a nice smooth sauce.

While the sauce is on a slow simmer/boil, add 5 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl.

With another whisk mix 1 tablespoon at a time of flour. Whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. If you have lumps here, you will definitely have lumps in your sauce.

After 3 minutes of cooking sauce, turn the heat up to high. Very slowly, pour the flour mixture into the boiling sauce. Here you must whisk the sauce vigorously while adding the flour to avoid lumps.

After all the flour is added, continue to whisk for one minute. You can turn the heat down to medium during this time. Just make sure the sauce is boiling.

Turn off the heat, this enchilada sauce recipe is done.

You will notice that as this sauce sits it will form a "skin" on the surface. This is normal and in fact the longer the sauce sits the thicker this skin becomes. All you have to do is peel the skin off and throw it away.

They aren't kidding about stirring! I added more than 1 T of the flour mixture at a time because I was in a hurry and I had a few lumps. Next time I'll follow the directions for a smoother result. This was like a gravy: thick and super good. A great flavor and the kitchen smelled great. The burritos were delicious. This one's a keeper!

I found this on is a Mexican Food Recipe site. I can't vouch for the rest of the recipes, but if you try something good let me know!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Wednesday's Word

Accident, noun. An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally typically resulting in damage or injury.

Owen's usage (in response to big brother Holden asking him why he'd ran into a door): It was accident.

Accident may not seem like such a fantastic word, but Owen will be two on the 21st of this month so I think it's a mouthful!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Slip'N Slide



Friday Fact

I have been called a female Cliff Clavin (from the TV show Cheers). This is not as insulting as it would seem since the reference is to Cliff's habit of sharing tidbits of trivia while sipping his beer at the bar. I too am full of useless facts (or so it seems).So it seems appropriate to share a fact on Friday. If there's one thing I learned in school about writing and catchy gimmicks it's alliteration!

Here's the first Friday Fact:

Writing is good for you! A study by psychologists at the University of California, Davis, found that participants who kept a journal recording five things that they were grateful for over the past week were a full 25 percent happier than the participants who noted five hassles that bothered them. Plus, the grateful group reported fewer health complaints, got more sleep and spent more time exercising.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Back To The Future!


Back in 2001 our family visited the Tennessee State Fair for the first time. Holden was only 3 at the time (the only kid in our family), but he was a big boy who wanted to ride all the midway rides even the ones geared for bigger kids (and kids at heart). We had to convince him that he could not handle the one that flew 6 stories into the air upside down! But we all agreed he could ride the swings as long as mom rode along.

So we handed the ride operator our tickets and climbed in the two-seater swing ready to have lots of fun. As the ride began, the swings rose about 3 feet off the ground and the gentle rotation started. The wind felt wonderful on the hot, humid day. Then the "swings" did something no other swings I had been on before had done. The circular top that the chains were attached to tilted as it rotated. It was a slight tilt at first, but then more dramatic. Our gentle ride suddenly was much more adventurous. Our swing flew way out to the side and then back in again; in and out, round and round. I never really suffered from motion sickness, but I became dizzy. Holden could barely hold his head up.

But it was fun! Holden wasn't scared at all. In fact, he giggled the entire ride. I couldn't help but to laugh at him having so much fun. As we staggered off the ride a photographer from The Tennessean approached us and asked if he could get our names, etc. and consent to use the picture he'd taken of us on the ride. He wasn't sure if it would be used, but he had to have that info in order for them to do so.

The next morning, Aunt Juli called us to let us know that we were on the FRONT page of the Sunday edition of The Tennessean. The picture was large... about half of the front page. We were celebrities... at least in our own minds!

Flash forward seven years: Holden is ten. We haven't been back to the state fair since, but last Thursday we opened our mailbox to find a section of The Tennessean with a note from our neighbor. Our picture was in again! What a surprise! And it brought back a flood memories just one of them was this story.

Time has flown! Holden looks so little in this photograph. And our family has grown so much. Emeline and Owen would love the rides. Maybe it's time to schedule another trip to the fair. No demon swings this time though!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Wednesday's Word: Scallop

SCALLOP, noun. An edible, bivalve mollusk with a ribbed fan-shaped shell.

Emeline's usage (as we are washing her hair): The most important part to clean is your scallop.