AND here we are again....

I'm not even gonna say it....oh heck, yes I am: Has it really been this long since I've posted?

Yep! So here is the rundown on what has been happening at Casa Crazylife I went back to school to finish an art degree. It is something I have wanted to do since before the kids were born, but life just got in the way. I have been taking classes at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas but it is time to move on to a 4 year college. I am really going to miss it there. I can't even begin to explain how much I have learned from the art professors there! However, I am at a point where there really are no more art classes that I can take so I have to get my rear over to Wichita State University to finish the degree. I will be working on a BFA (Bachelors of Fine Art) in Studio, with an emphasis in painting. It will be nice to have less of a drive, but I do still have a studio in El Dorado that I am hanging onto. It took FOREVER for a space to open up and I am LOVING the fact that I have a place to work now. When I took possession of the studio, the wall with the windows on it and the wall next to it were a dark pumpkin color. Pretty, but they were too dark for a painting studio. The built in desk had been used as a palette at some point and was quite dismal looking. All the walls were dingy, so after a couple coats of light taupe paint, the walls really look great. My husband stripped the desk and stained it a cherry color and it looks FABULOUS! He does such awesome work!

My two windows...On now has an air conditioner in it since we discovered that it is impossible to be up there in 100 degree and higher temps without getting really overcome by the heat. Cute Man aka. husband is stripping the counter top and the desktop in front. Love them sexy orange gloves!!!

More stripper action..I mean, wood stripping ...of course...

Now for the another funny quirk we discovered. When I got the studio, this carpet was already there. The director of the museum that owns the building said if i didn't want the carpet, just roll it up and leave it in the common area that is shared with the other artists. so, I lifted it and...

WHAT>?!!! Seriously. There are no tiles in the exact shape of the carpet..LOL...I'll throw down some inexpensive tiles and get rid of the carpet....

I haven't been up there as much as I would like up to this point, but I only moved into the studio in June, so I am still getting a schedule worked out. It is really wonderful to finally have a place to create! I will start posting paintings as I get them done. School starts back up in the latter part of August, so I am getting a schedule figured out and will start getting down to work!

To end--a couple things I did last semester. There were a lot more, I'll post more later.

Just a little of what has been going on at Casa Crazylife. Hope you have been having a great year so far too!

2011 Already?!!

2010 was an interesting and challenging year.

My family added 2 people when my oldest and his girlfriend moved back home in order to find a job here (he had previously lived 7 hours away), school kept me crazy busy but super satisfied, and I have had to come to terms with having a parent who is ill. My Dad underwent chemotherapy and radiation for cancer in several areas of his body at the beginning of this Fall semester, so it has been a really bumpy ride here at Casa CrazyLife. When you are younger, it seems like your parents are invincible and are going to be strong forever. Then life happens and you realize that they are just as human as the rest of us, which is a hard pill to swallow. Dad is still fighting the good fight. I'm not sure where this chapter of my life is going to end up, but I am also having to come to terms with the fact that we are not always the author of our life story. There is a bigger story being written and we do not always know the plot..

That said, I have been on a quest to simplify a lot of the areas of my life where there has been to much excess and lack of focus. I went back to school to work on an art degree. When I was younger, that is what I had originally wanted to do, then the reality of having kids moved in and I changed majors. My advice to the younger set is to keep with the original dream. You can always find ways to make a living and you will be more fulfilled in the long run and not have to backtrack. I have started taking classes at a junior college where the instructors absolutely ROCK! LOL...I have had a lot of learning and growing pains, but I am really excited about the progress and direction I've gained under their guidance. Eventually I will move on to the 4 year college here in town, but in the meantime I am going part time and focusing on growing and learning as much as I can from my instructors. It is interesting going back to school when you are the closer to the age of your fellow students parents--and in some cases, a lot older than their parents...But I will say that as much as I hear people complain about young kids in college, I've seen much more from this age group than bad. It is interesting to see someone just starting out and how their view of the world is untainted by the realities of life. I think our views and attitudes do change once we have a little dust under our saddle, but it is refreshing to see younger points of view. I am working on putting together a portfolio and trying to take some workshops this year with other artists. That will mean more travel in 2011, which I am excited about. I love to travel!

Other than that, life goes on at Casa CrazyLife at dizzying speeds. I'm sure it is the same at your home too! Happy 2011! May we all prosper and grow in the New Year!

And So Goes Life....

I was reminded the other day that life is very busy and it seems to be passing by at the speed of light. And then I checked this blog and realized I have not posted since AUGUST!!!! Yikes. I won't even make excuses or promises to be better. Instead I will tell you what has been happening at Casa Crazylife in the passing months..

School: I am back in school taking art related courses right now. At this point I am going back to what I had hoped to do before my oldest was born. The semester is winding down, but it has been a mad dash to get everything done. I am taking a 2D design class, a life drawing class and a second jewelry class. I've loved them all but it seems the 2D class has swallowed a huge portion of my time this semester. It has been VERY labor intensive, but I think it has made me take a look at several design principles that will help me in the fine art area. My life drawing class has been fantastic too. I am going to do a project class next semester in the life drawing mode, so I am looking forward to seeing where this takes me. The jewelry class has been interesting in that I have been learning some basic lapidary skills that I have REALLY enjoyed in addition to the silversmithing.

On the home front, the twins have been REALLY busy this semester with football, which just ended. From there we go straight into wrestling season. Only one of the boys is wrestling this year. School and other stuff keeps both of them really busy, and us too!

My oldest and his girlfriend are living with us temporarily while they look for jobs and a place of their own. It has been a big adjustment for all of us, but it really is nice to have him closer to home. That said, I do miss going up to Iowa. I really loved it in Iowa City. I might have to road trip there next year if I can find time in between my other planned trips to Washington, Texas and New Mexico.

I had hoped to accomplish so much more over the summer in regards to getting the house in order and finally decorated, but that lagged a lot. After the rush of the holidays are over, I am going to regroup and get some projects lined out to start the process. Painting was #1 on the list, but that is going to have to go to the end of the line. So instead I will focus on cosmetic stuff and organizing. We've been in this house for 2 years and still have a garage full of STUFF. Time to unload and lighten up a bit!

So there you have it--in a nutshell! I will make an effort to keep updated over the next couple months and not be such a bad blogger! LOL.

Cuban Bread...BIG YUM!

While my son and I were in Kansas City for a handmade pasta class at the Culinary Center of Kansas City, I went to Whole Foods Market and picked up an August copy of Tastebud magazine. It is a free magazine distributed in Kansas City and it is always packed with interesting recipes and shopping ideas that revolve around food. This month, there is a recipe for "Cuban bread"  that caught my attention (since you know what a bona fide carb and baking freak I am) and haunted me. So last night I had to just give in to the temptation and bake that bread!

OMG!! It was fabulous!

Here is the recipe-it was a reprint from a Jan/Feb 1996 issue of a Cook's magazine column by Jane and Michael Stern. Darn it--now I am going to have to hunt down a back issue of that magazine! However, here is the recipe. Try it, I promise it's slightly sourdough tang will hook you on the first bite that you take . As for me, I'm making more this weekend, I want to teach the kids how to bake a good loaf of bread and this one fits the bill. Do remember to mist the oven--it does make a difference in the crust. This crust is simply divine!!

Cuban Bread

1 pkg yeast ( I used 1Tblsp. bulk yeast)

2 Tblsp. sugar

1 1/3 cups warm water (110-112 degrees)

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour (I used bread flour)

2 tsp salt (I used sea salt)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and the sugar in 2/3 cup warm water. when foamy, whisk in 1 cup of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 4 hours in a warm place. (I let mine sit for about 6 since I had errands to run)

Stir in the remaining 2/3 cup water. Combine 3 cups of the flour with the salt and beat into the yeast mixture. Add veggie oil and beat until dough just holds together. (I let the dough hook on my KitchenAide mixer do the job for about 5 minutes). Turn the dough onto a floured surface and let rest while you clean and oil the bowl.

Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, 5-6 minutes, adding only enough flour to make the dough workable and soft. (again, I let my dough hook do that job..I love my KitchenAide!), Return the dough to the oiled bowl and turn the dough once to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours. (I started this whole process late at night, so I covered the dough and sat it in the fridge overnight to slow rise. In the morning I set the covered bowl on the counter to come to room temp and rise more--it does add a lot to the flavor)

Lightly oil a french bread pan (I used a cookie sheet since I don't have a french bread pan) and punch down dough. Divide into 2 parts and roll each part into a 16-18 inch rope. Put in the prepared pan and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slash each loaf with a very sharp knife 2-3 times along the top and mist the loaves with water (I also misted the heck out of the oven. My hair is permanently frizzed) .

Bake in a preheated oven until the loaves are light and golden--20 to 25 minutes, misting them again when they have been in the oven for 7 minutes (again, I can't follow instructions, so I misted mine a couple more times, just to buck the system.  I know-I'm such a rebel...)

Spread with butter, gorge yourself until you can't move and grin like the cat that ate the canary. THIS IS SERIOUSLY GOOD STUFF!!!

Where Did the Summer Go..Again...

I can't believe school starts for both the boys and I in the next couple weeks. Where did summer go? It seems like time flew by so quickly that I really didn't have time to do a lot of anything, but the reality is that is didn't really "fly", I just didn't get a whole heck of a lot done this summer. I guess I need to step up and review my list before the cold weather sets in. Some things MUST get done, like pulling the old wallpaper off the family room, sanding the walls smooth, then priming and painting...along with some of the furniture refinishing projects I have laying around the house....plus I am hoping to get a measure of redecorating done.



I have three art classes this semester and I'm really looking forward to all of them. My life drawing is the one class that is making me nervous since I tend to be a perfectionist and want to draw things "right"..having a model to draw from is going to be exciting, but I get caught up in the little things like wanting to get it all correct the first time around. I am going to work on not getting frustrated and being OK with imperfection while I get the process down....I guess that is going to be a challenge, but I think I'm going to really enjoy the opportunity to practice this. I also have another jewelry class and a 2 dimensional design class, which will be fun. I feel fortunate that all the instructors are people that I am really comfortable with. I really wish this was a 4 yr college, I would definitely stay, even with the 50 minute daily commute! I have to work on putting together a portfolio of work in the coming semesters so that I can transfer over to Wichita State University's art department. I want to transfer over to either the printmaking or the painting department. Printmaking (relief or intaglio) is my love, but lately I am finding that I like oil painting too. I'm nowhere near mastering it or even being proficient in it yet, but I really enjoy it. We'll just have to see where the path leads, I guess. I would love to have studio space where I could just spread my stuff out and not have to worry about getting paint and charcoal on my light carpeting..hopefully that comes into fruition this semester.


On my reading shelf this month is "The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken..." I bought this book several months back when I got interested in making my own ravioli and pastas. In a week, my oldest and I are going to Kansas City to learn how to make homemade pasta at the Culinary Center of Kansas City--the same place I went earlier this summer with one of the twins to learn how to make sushi (which we have become sushi making fools around here!)...There are SO many classes that they are offering this Fall that I'd love to take, but alas, the drive in combination with school and home schedules make it impossible to take the really cool classes they offer during the week. A lot of their classes are taught by KC professional chefs, so they are the least busy during the week since Friday-Sat is the big time for restaurants..KCCC does have a couple classes on the weekends that I might take though. I guess I'll have to wait until summers for now. What I like about this book so far is it details not only her quest for the techniques and the recipes that she is craving, it also highlights the fundamental hunger of connections to family. In her case, as in many families, those connections are strained. So far I am only halfway through the book, but am finding that I completely understand where she came from, is coming from and hoping to get back to. I should be finishing the book this week and will give a more in depth review. So far, it's a keeper.

Inspiration and Perspiration

It hit 107*F today.

I knew it was coming, it always does this time of year, but for some reason I was clinging to the denial part pretty heavy. The chickens have NOT been happy about the heat and have been pretty verbal about letting me know they are going on strike until the coop has air conditioning. Yep. It's getting pretty ugly here at Casa Crazylife.

 I am just hanging out in the house waiting for the heat to pass and looking forward to school starting in less than a month. I have 3 classes this semester and they are all art classes, so this is going to be a great semester for creativity.

A series of paintings I am working on of my morning coffee cup. I read of an artist that took the same object and painted it 100 times in different colors and settings. Not sure if I can stay with it for 100 paintings, but I'm having fun with it right now.

I did get to learn a few new things while I've been off for summer break--I took an oil painting class at Wichita Center for the Arts and got to play with oils. I have worked with acrylics and watercolors before, but never oils. I love it!! I have amassed a ton of oil paints and canvas/gessoed boards to paint on and have been trying to do a little painting every day to get myself more familiar with the medium. I have also started collecting a few books to help me along on the subject, which I will introduce over the coming posts. One book that I absolutely adore, but is out of print is "60 Minutes to Better Painting" by Craig Nelson. He has a DVD out which looks to be a really good version of the book also. I bought the book on secondary market and then was shocked to see it skyrocket in price. Hopefully the publisher will reprint the book since it is a great reference. I like the idea of doing LOTS of 60 minute paintings to get proficient and learn what to edit and what to keep.  

At the beginning of the summer Cute Man and the boys got 2 really great raised bed built for me and we discovered that they eat of a huge amount of soil. I think each one took close to 30 bags of peat hummus and top soil to get filled! Finally after we filled them, I went wild planting seeds.

That is where I ran into trouble.

In all the excitement of getting my seeds in the ground, ONE OF US (that'd be ME) didn't mark what was planted there. Did you know that there are a lot of plants that appear to be weeds? Yep. After pulling what turned out to be stuff I planted, I have decided that next year the planting beds will be clearly marked and I won't put so much in them. Cucumbers and melons become monstrosities in no time at all. Plus--when you plant Brandywine or Cherokee Purple tomatoes--PUT CAGES AROUND THEM EARLY!! They grow to be huge and flop over if not supported.

Lessons learned.

The hard way.

Plans for the Summer

Hope everyone's July 4th celebrations went off with a bang!

It was quite noisy around our little town last night with all the fireworks exploding around us. Cute man and the twins got in on the action by stocking up on some of the good stuff too. The dogs and chickens did not seem to share the excitement of the celebration though. The dogs were firmly planted in the house and the chickens took to the coop as soon as the first bang!
Summer has been slowly moving along this year. So far, the biggest highlight has been the sushi making class one of my son's and I took in Kansas City at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. It was a 3 hour drive, but it was worth EVERY mile. Their classes always are! In August, my oldest son and I have signed up for a handmade pasta class. One of the things we always do when we are up there is hit the Asian grocery stores and the Whole Foods Market. If we had one of these in Wichita, I would be in absolute heaven!! I always stock up on their 365 brand stuff and their bulk foods when I hit Kansas City. Last time I was in town, I noticed they had ground bison. YUM! Thinking a couple pounds (or 10) will have to come back with us when I go in August! I did see an article in the Wichita newspaper recently that mention Whole Foods might consider coming to Wichita--that would make this city HEAVEN! We have a nice city, not as big as Kansas City, but definitely a very easy place to live, and having a Whole Foods where I could get to would make it complete. I would probably do the bulk of my shopping there and at Dillon's since I tend to try to stay away from Wal-Mart most of the time.

In addition to the pasta class, I am teaching a canning class in El Dorado this September. I love to can and was approached by a lady about teaching a class to beginners. Since I love sharing the "gospel of the canning jar" to everyone, of course I said yes! LOL. We'll be doing jams and probably some salsa. Hopefully my garden gets it together and starts spitting out tomatoes in time! If not, I'll figure out a plan B and hit the Farmer's market.

Summer!

This is going to be a busy summer! My 4 year old grand nephew is going to spend a large portion of the summer with us. The twins are now 16 years old, so it has been a while since we've had a little one in the house.

Things that have fallen by the wayside:
1. Sleeping in : little man wakes up no later than 6:30 a.m.....and there is no going back to bed after that.

2. the ability to go into the restroom and have a moment of peace and quiet...you guys with kids remember this, I'm sure!

3. Housecleaning....I had hoped to catch up with this during the summer. Might have to be creative with this one. The house needs to have a really good Spring cleaning!

We are having to work with little man on amusing himself and not getting into stuff he knows he is not supposed to get into. We've also had to work quite a bit on not talking back to adults, spitting and other things he gets away with at his house. He is here because niece says she can't handle him, but once he gets a strict and firm routine, he settles down. At some point this summer I am going to go to my niece's house to teach her how to be a Mom. She didn't have a role model since her Mom was (and still is) pretty non functional in that area. It does make me realize the importance of role models for our kids. If kids do not have a good role model, it is often hard for them to succeed in public and at home. When you are raising your kids, you are also shaping the world your grand kids will live in. It is not a task to be taken lightly!

On the flip side, I did get our blackberry bushes and grapes planted, along with 2 raised beds. One of those beds has rhubarb, asparagus, and a variety of lettuce and tomatoes. I had put in strawberries, but the dogs dug them up. So we finally got smart and surrounded the raised beds with chicken wire to keep both the dogs and cats out. The other beds have tomatoes, cucumbers, Thai melons and marigolds. After the seeds sprout, I will thin them and transplant to a couple other raised beds so that we have more. I am looking forward to canning our own salsa and tomato sauces this summer. I need to put some bell peppers in the ground this week, but after that I am pretty much done for the planting season. One of the things that surprised me is the amount of soil it took to fill the raised beds! The next ones will not be as deep or as wide!

Another activity this season is an oil painting class at the Wichita Center for the Arts. I have been wanting to take an oil class for a while and decided that this is the right time...This was before we found out we were getting my grand nephew for the summer, but I decided that we will work around that and I stayed in the class. However, finding the place to paint without having little man's hands on the canvas might be a challenge.

The one thing I have NOT been able to do is get any knitting done. I have a pair of socks that have been on the needles FOREVER! I want to get them done soon. I also miss my two favorite yarn shops: Twist in Wichita and The Newton Beadery in Newton. Have to figure out how to make time to knit!

HE DID IT!

My beautiful, smart husband graduated with his Master's degree in aerospace engineering this past week. I'm so proud of him! He has worked really hard. The day before my cute man's graduation, our friend Cindy graduated with her Ph.D in Human Factors engineering. GREAT JOB ERIC AND CINDY!

A little time away?

Yep--it has been quite a while since I have actually sat down and blogged. Bad blogger, I know. I had good intentions and high aspirations, but you can see how that turned out. So, here is an update on everything at Casa CrazyLife:

1: I went back to school to work on an art degree. This is the degree I had originally wanted to complete before I had my oldest son. At 45 years old, I am going back and working on this. Right now I am enrolled in a drawing 1 class and a Jewelry 1 class and loving it. That is part time--6 hours, but it fits well with the fact I am still a full time taxi for 2 teenagers who are very involved in sports and other school activities. Since they have their licenses and will be sharing a car next semester, it will free my schedule up a bit. I plan to take a life drawing, a 2d design class and jewelry 2....My school is a junior college and I am completely in love with it, but after I finish up some other classes I will have to transfer to the four year university here. The studio classes will probably not transfer, but they have been really beneficial to me. I have learned so much this semester that has helped my drawing! And I have conquered my fear of acetylene torches in my jewelry class...it has been a learning semester for me. When I transfer to the university, I will go in under the printmaking department. I love printmaking--relief printing and drypoint in particular, along with etching, but I will be glad to learn it all.

2: Hubby graduates with his master's degree (in engineering) this May. It will be nice to have him home on Tuesday and Thursday nights..LOL. I'm sure he is really ready to graduate also, but for different reason. Thinking the Tuesday and Thursday nights were quiet times for him.

3. Oldest son moved from Tipton, Iowa. He is only 3 hours away right now. However, we haven't had time to visit him yet. After the school season ends, we will hopefully have more time.

That is a brief rundown -- there has been a lot more going on to keep me busy and away from blogging...time to get back and start blogging regularly again.

Proud of the Kids!

As I sit here in the warmth of my house, my husband and sons are on Ft. Smith, Arkansas competing in the regional high school robotics competition.. All the kids worked hard for this and I'm really proud of them. At the beginning of the year, all the competing schools in the state meet at the same time and get the kits and specifications for the robots they are to build. The kids modify and create a robot that has to complete certain tasks during the competition. There is also a separate written and oral presentation that figures into the scoring process. Our kids did well enough to be one of 5 teams from our state to get to Regional finals. YAY CAMPUS COLTS! The final round of the competition is today--I'm sending positive thoughts their way!!

On the home side, the girls are growing in leaps and bounds--I'll post pictures next week. Hopefully we will have the coop out in the yard soon. If you are going to get chickens, I highly recommend having EVERYTHING in place--coop, fenced enclosure if you have dogs like we do, and every possible thing you need--before you bring those cute LITTLE chicks home. As I have discovered, chickens morph into really big chicken in practically no time. We have them in cages right now until the coop is completed, but a wise woman would have had this before the whole process started. Daily cage changing is a pain!!! And you REALLY have to change the pans daily or you end up with sick chickens. You have to keep the outside pens clean with daily maintenance anyway, but it is a little easier when they have the room to roam. That is the lesson for the day! Learn it well!

Growing Up

Remember the girls we bought at Atwoods a couple weeks ago? Remember how cute and small they were? Well, my little girls have grown up....Originally we planned to have them in the coop by now, but I'm concerned they may not do too well in the winter cold since they are still pretty young, so we are setting them up in the garage for the winter and they will go into a coop enclosure when it warms up in the Spring.

They are sooo much fun to watch!

Once A Month Cooking Spaghetti Sauce

Last night we had lasagna for dinner with sauce prepared from page 20 of the Once a Month Cooking book. This is my new go to sauce for spaghetti and lasagna. I did change the recipe a bit and added 1 pound of ground beef in addition to the pound of bulk Italian sausage since we like meaty sauces--and it was excellent. I also browned the meat, drained it and put all the ingredients in my slow cooker to simmer overnight, which made it even easier and added a slow simmered flavor.

With the sauce prepared, I put one cup of sauce on the bottom of a generously buttered 9"x13" baking pan and covered that with a layer of dried lasagna noodles.

Why dry? Doesn't the package say boil until tender? Well, yes it does, but let me let you in on a secret. First, boiling the noodles is a pain and a step I don't have the patience for. I always tear the soft noodles. Since the noodles are going to be covered with sauce, then cooked in a covered pan, they will be tender when it is time to pull the dish out and not soggy. The dried noodles will absorb any excess liquids during the cooking process, which cuts down on the possibility for a soggy entree. Second, you might have to break up the noodles to cover any bare spots. One thing I discovered was the corners of my pans were rounded, which made a 1/4 " gap if I tried to lay the noodles in it. So I snapped of a little of the corner of the noodles at the edge and they tucked into the rounded corners perfectly. Play with it to make it work for you,

Next, put a layer of sauce over the noodles. Mix together 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of small curd cottage cheese (trust me on this--it is good). layer it on top the sauce, then put a layer of dried noodles over that, with another layer of sauce. repeat this to make the lasagna as thick as the pan. Make sure the last layer of noodles are completely covered with sauce, then cover and put in a 350 degree oven for approx 45 minutes. Test noodles to see if they are done by putting a knife into a noodle. If it offers no resistance, the dish is done. Take it out and let it sit for 15 minutes so it is easier to slice and serve.

Serve with french bread, salad and fruit. YUM!

Baked Jambalya From "Once a Month Cooking"

In my previous post, I had tried the 12 Boy Curry from The Once A Month Cooking book by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Langerborg. Tuesday I decided to try the Baked Jambalaya on page 22. I love jambalaya and had high hopes for this dish.

I prepared the sauce and it smell outrageously good. Then I added the rice, covered it and baked it. Unfortunately the rice was a bit soggy and mushy when it came out of the oven. Maybe I overcooked it, however the taste of the rest of it was spectacular and the prep work was not too intense. Actually it was downright easy, so I am glad I prepared a double batch (the rice is not frozen with the sauce, it is added before baking) and froze one for later.

As I said, the actual taste of the jambalaya was great, the mushy rice was not, so next time I will prepare the rice separately from the sauce, simmer the sauce in the crockpot and then add the cooked rice right before I serve it to keep the rice from getting mushy or pour the heated sauce over the cooked rice in bowls. Normally I shy away from recipes that don't turn out the first time, but I was please with the taste of the sauce, so I am going to try it again with minor changes. Prepared this way, the sauce can simmer all day in a crockpot on low and be ladled over the rice that is prepared right before serving.

Once A Month Cooking Manual 12 Boy Curry

I am trying my hand at cooking at home more in order to save a little hard earned cash that is normally used to eat out. My eventual goal is to buy a small chest freezer so I can start doing "freezer cooking" or "once a month cooking". That is where you spend an afternoon once a month or every two weeks making enough entrees for 15 or 30 meals that will be frozen for future meals. When I heard about it initially, I thought it sounded like a lot of work and perhaps a bit odd.

But one evening as I was pulling a prepackaged commercially prepared Lasagna out of the freezer, I thought "DUH! What am I doing paying $10 for a meal I could have made and frozen myself for a lot less. "

Not to mention I would be avoiding preservatives and other stuff common in frozen foods. I had attended a workshop session many years ago in Tulsa by the authors of "30 Day Gourmet" and even went as far as to purchase their book. To give you an idea, I have a copy of the first and second edition, they are currently on the 10th or 11th edition. I have to admit that I haven't tried any recipes out of it, however the worksheets and the instructions are worth their weight in gold if you haven't done this kind of mass food prep before. I started collecting a couple other books like this with the intention of cooking from them.

Recently I dusted them all off and decided to try recipes from these books.

I decided I will take 2 books and work through them for a period of 3-4 months. This month I will be working through the Once A Month Cooking Manual by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg and More Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer by Sue Martinez, Vanda Howell and Bonnie Garcia. Both of these books are easily available through Amazon.com.

Tonight I made the 12 Boy Curry From the Once a Month Cooking Manual.

The prep work was pretty darn easy. Sauteing the chicken in butter, removing then sauteing the chopped onion celery and garlic in additional butter. Combining the dry ingredients, adding to the cooking veggies, adding the liquids and then the cooked chicken. Since our family is not big on celery, I was tempted to leave it out, but decided to go ahead and do the recipe as printed this time. I'm glad I did. The celery is not noticeable by itself, but is definitely a key player in the fabulous flavor of this dish. My only departure from the recipe is that I used the beef soup base I have in the cabinet instead of the canned beef broth, but that is splitting hairs since it is all the same stuff. I just used what I had on hand. I did add a little hot curry powder (1/2 tsp) since our family likes things pretty spicy, but I would advise caution on that. I ALMOST overdid that. Nobody in my family will get cold tonight! LOL!

The prep work on this dish was pretty minimal, it went together fast and tastes unbelievable! If I didn't know I had prepared it, I would say it competes head to head with my favorite Indian eatery.

This one is a definite keeper! When spooned over Jasmine (That was all I had on hand) or Basmati rice, which would have been the most appropriate rice, it is unbelievable.

Since it is night and the light from the overhead light would give the picture a weird orange/yellow glow, I will wait to post pictures of the dish until next time I make it. AND I WILL BE MAKING IT AGAIN SOON! It is fabulous.

I am looking forward to trying other dishes from this book.

Is this CUTE or what?

I had thought about getting chickens for quite some time. This week, I finally acted on it.

Actually, I think it was more like divine intervention. Not sure husband agrees, but that's the story I'm sticking to.

I had originally gone into Atwoods looking for an apple peeler to peel a large amount of apples to make an apple crisp. While they didn't have the kind of apple peeler that will work for me, I wandered into the feed section and found the Fall chicks. I knew they had chicks and other animals for sale in the Spring, but never thought about them selling in the Fall. I guess that makes sense. By the time Spring rolls around, it will be time for them to start laying eggs. I am looking forward to just having to go to my own back yard for fresh eggs! We only have a couple, which will be fine for our sized family and the size lot we have. It is also easier for me to keep a couple chickens clean. They are all pullets (females) since roosters aren't allowed in our city for obvious reasons.

The girls are currently housed in a large cage in our guest bedroom until the coop is in place and they are old enough to go outside. The kids and I love to watch the girls' antics. They are so funny to watch and I can tell they have interesting personalities already.

The reasons for keeping chickens becomes glaringly obvious the first time you have a fresh egg. Not the kind you buy at the grocery store, but a real egg from chickens that are fed real food and allowed room to move around. When we homeschooled the boys many years ago, we went to the home of another homeschooler that had chickens. She sent everyone home with a dozen fresh eggs. The boys and I were amazed at how orange the yolks were and how high the yolks set in the whites. It was amazing! And the taste was incomparable! Ever since then, we have thought about getting chickens. While the cost of keeping chickens does not make it cheaper than store bought when you figure in the cost of food and other things, the benefits are obvious.

And now we have chickens...

Why YES--it is High School football season...

This is Mark. Obviously entrenched in an interesting conversation with one of his team mates.

In the picture above, that's our other twin son, Jeremy--sandwiched between #53 and #77, with his helmet off.

And here he is again, not looking too happy...

We are in full swing here at Casa Davis. Football season has started and both boys are playing again this year. Since they are on the JV team and backup for the varsity team, that means we have not one, but TWO football games each week. Yep. It is keeping us busy and the boys are exhausted every night. Mark usually ends up falling asleep right after dinner. It will only be like this for a couple more months, so in the meantime we are just trying to plug right along.

I'm Still Here!

It has been a while since I've posted, but I am still here! This summer has turned out to be much busier than I'd anticipated, so unfortunately blogging has fallen a bit behind. I'll return this weekend with pictures of some of the knitting I've been working on, posts on good eats and just general mayhem that is my life!

Soapmaking at The Flying Pig in Wichita

Robin (in the picture) and I took a cold process soapmaking class a couple weeks ago at The Flying Pig here in Wichita. Dani, the owner has a REALLY good smoothie bar in the back so that while you are shopping or taking a class, you can be enjoying one of the best smoothies in Wichita.

Her shop is packed with just about any kind of special touch that you can imagine. She has one of a kind jewelry, pottery, paintings etc by local artists, wonderful candles and bath products for yourself or someone else, and a lot of little treasures. Except the butterfly hooks in the above picture. Those had to come home with me. She can probably order some for you, but these babies had my name on them.

OK, so my hand was not completely still. Sorry! But I did get a picture of the owner, Dani, on the left and my friend Robin on the right. All the bottles are the makings for soap. The class was FANTASTIC. Robin and I made the same kind of soap (Cocoa/vanilla) with all kinds of wonderful oils and goats milk. It really got my creative juices flowing. I've made cold process soap in the past, but put it aside because the kids were so small. Now that I have brushed up on the basics again, I really want to start making soap again.

Dani is very sweet and shares a wealth of information, so I came away really inspired. She offers soapmaking classes at a really great price, so contact her and let her show you how to make something special of your own. Or you can buy some handcrafted soap made by her right there at the shop. She has several varieties.

Once you use real handcrafted soap that nourishes your skin instead of stripping the life out of it, you will not go back to the supermarket stuff. And by the way, look at the labels of the "soap" you are using. Notice it says stuff like deodorant bar, complexion bar and a variety of other labels--anything but SOAP. That's because it is not real soap.

And here is Robin. Watch it, she is a handful of trouble! LOL.

If you have time, stop in Dani's shop. It is a locally owned, female owned small business, so your money stays local and supports our local artists and shops. We need locally owned businesses to thrive in Wichita!!

For Chris

Ok Christine-- Is it wrong that I saw this list and thought of you?

LOL!!


50 THINGS YOU WOULD LOVE TO SAY OUT LOUD AT WORK


1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of shit.
2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
3. How about never? Is never good for you?
4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.
6. Who lit the fuse on your tampon?
7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.
8. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.
9. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
10. Ahhhh. I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.
11. I like you. You remind me of myself when I was young and stupid.
12 You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
13. I have plenty of talent and vision; I just don't give a shit.
14. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
16. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
17. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
18. Any resemblance between your reality and mine are purely coincidental.
19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks?!
20. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
21. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.
22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
23. And your cry-baby whiny-assed opinion would be?
24. Do I look like a people person to you?
25. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.
26. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.
27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.
28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?
29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed..
30. Whatever kind of look you were aiming for, you missed.
31. Oh I get it. Like humor, but different.........
32. An office is just a mental institute without the padded walls.
33. Can I swap this job for what's behind door..........Number 1?
34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.
35. Nice perfume (or aftershave). Must you marinate in it?
36. Chaos, panic, and disorder. My work here is done.
37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?
38. I thought I wanted a career; it turns out I just needed the money.
39. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being more intelligent.
40. Wait a minute - I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.
41. Aren't you a black hole of need?
42. I'd like to help you out, which way did you come in?
43. Did you eat an extra bowl of stupid this morning?
44. Why don't you slip into something more comfortable? Like a coma.
45. If you have something to say raise your hand... then place it over your mouth.
46. I'm too busy, can I ignore you some other time?
47. Don't let your mind wander, it's too small to be let out on its own.
48. Have a nice day, somewhere else.
49. You're not yourself today, I noticed the improvement straight away.
50. Do you hear that? That's the sound of no-one caring.