Soups On

Today we headed over to Bearss Groves to pick up some produce and grab a few wooden pallets. We're experimenting with the pallets, seeing how hard they are to break down, so we can use them for a variety of projects. It's virtually free wood when you can find them, well...free. That's a whole nother post though. Getting back to the veggies. I was inspired at the market. How could you not be inspired by this...

Those little tomatoes in the front are from my garden and will have their own post soon.

As you probably know, I've been trying to cut down expenses, eat healthier and create meals from foods that we're able to grow ourselves. A lot of this is learning, experimenting. On my menu I have "soup/salad/sandwhich" night a few times a month. It's quick and hearty. It's also fairly flexible which is good. I've been buying precanned soups and find them lacking in innumerous ways. First of all, they're pretty darned expensive. Especially, if you buy the "good" stuff. I use that term loosely. Add in that we have to make 2-4 cans depending on the hunger level of the family and we're looking at a $10 meal just for the canned soup. Also, the meat varieties have very little meat in them. The quantity and taste of the vegetables is ridiculously miniscule.

I will probably still keep a few cans in the cabinet for days when we're running low on time or I'm sick and just can't stand to make anything harder than opening a can of soup. But today I made a change for the good, I think. I made a shitload of soup.

For you mathematicians, a shitload is > or = to 9 liters of soup. There are 38.8 (we'll just be generous and say 39) ounces in a liter. A can of Chunky is just over 18 ounces. On a good day Chunky costs $1.60 a can. For a liter of Chunky soup you'd pay just over $3.20. $3.20 x 9 = $28.80. I spent $60 on materials for all these soups. That includes 2 full chickens which will be a meal on their own, the left overs are going into the soup. Dry beans, tomato paste, butter and milk. I'm not sure how to factor in that I made soups you can't buy but I'm sure that makes my GDSP (that's gross domestic soup product) much more valuable, or less valuable. I'm not sure.

We (and by "we" I mean "I" while everyone else tried to "help") made Broccoli Cheese, Potato Leek, Loaded Baked Potato and Garden Butternut Squash. I still have Chili, chicken noodle, vegetable and corn chowder to make tomorrow. Worked out that today was all the soups that needed the emulsion blender. The one tool I didn't actually have until the soups were made, I realized I needed it, and then forced Rob to go to the store with Max, the best "helper", and buy one.

I'll be posting the recipes throughout the week and possibly into next. I'll update the tutorial sidebar when a new one is posted so ya'll can get to 'em quick like. (I'm sorry. I don't know why I just turned into a Southern Belle.) The first up will be Broccoli Cheese and by God it's a good one. Soups on folks.

Rag Rug-along week 3

Howdy! So this is week three of the Rag Rug-along. If you're new to the game you haven't missed much so jump right in! Last weeks assignment (and the week before that) was to gather materials for your rug. It can be anything as long as it's not strechy and the fabric weights are similar. Shirts, pants, sheets, curtains. Whatever.

Here's my stash...

It consists of various sized flat sheets for various sized beds (one size I don't even have anymore) plus some lonely pillow cases that have no mates. I stayed away from fitted as they'd become odd shaped when I cut off the elastic. I'm going for easy here.

The picture isn't very good but they're greens, browns and blues. The striped is a king size so I have the most of that. I think the smattering of other colors throughout are going to look really good. I have these colors through most of my downstairs.

Here's week three's assignment wash your fabrics and if you're feeling really fiesty, go ahead and iron them too. If they're new wash on hot and try and get them shrunk just incase.

We're taking it nice and slow. Feel free to join up and learn how to make yourself a Rag Rug. I'd love to see photos of your stash if you're following along.

Tuna Melts

Yes, this is another Tuna recipe in the same month but honestly, it was on sale really cheap and I stocked up a while back. I have to clean out the pantry before the canned tuna goes off...all twenty seven cans of it. Hey, I have a big family to feed. One can just doesn't cut it.

So, here's another almost-not-really a recipe since it's so darn simple but here you go anyway because I like to share. Enjoy.

Tuna Melts

Ingredients

3 cans of tuna
approx 1/4 cup Dukes Mayo
2 Tbs Dill
1 Tbs White pepper
1/2 Tbs Onion powder
1/2 Tbs Garlic powder
4 full English Muffins
8 slices of Asiago cheese (1 for each 1/2 English Muffin)


Directions

- Seperate each muffin and place outside down on a nonstick cookie sheet (so the nooks and crannies are facing up). Preheat oven to 350.

-Mix tuna, seasonings and mayo together. Taste as you go and adjust to your liking.

-Spoon and spread into a thick layer on each muffin half. Top with a slice of cheese. It's okay if it overlaps, it's yummy that way.

-Cook for 10 minutes then blast them with 1-2 min. of High under the broiler to brown the cheese a bit.

That's it! Next time I'll be making more of these since the 8 halves barely fed us all. They're super yummy and the kids loved them, Livi had two. Other than the cheese and muffins it's pretty much a pantry meal which is great. Keep the items on hand for when you're pressed for time but need something hearty. We served ours with carrot sticks and watermellon. Complete meal in about 20 minutes.

Car Talk

I love that my kids dig a lot of the same things I do. I have to relish this time as I'm sure they'll knock it off when they're teens. Though their rebellion will probably be Izod and Ambercrombie related. Thursday was grocery day. On the way I was cranking my iPod. The following conversation ensued.

Alex "What is this music?"
Me "The Avett Brothers."
Alex "You listen to that all the time. Can we listen to Professor Murder instead?"
Me "I don't think I have that on this. It was messed up when I downloaded it."
Alex "Well, what about Mixel Pixel."
Me "I only have the one song, it messed up on that too."
Cordi "I want to listen to my favorite. The one that goes "No sunshine, no sunshine."
*Olivia starts singing it off key and the wrong words*
Me "You mean Death Cab for Cutie?"
Cordi "Yeah, Deaf Cat for Ceudee."
Alex "How about the Beastie Boys?"
Me "I don't have them at all on here."
Alex "Well, what about Radiohead?"
Cordi "I want the Deaf Cat."
Me  "Yeah, I have that. We can listen to Radiohead and then Cordi's song."

I love having hip kids.

7 months along

My last post on my dreads was 2 months ago. I'm not sure what kind of progress has been made because I don't take regular photos of my hair. But according to my blog (which is the only way I remember stuff) they looked like this around Thanksgiving...

This morning they looked like this...

They've grown and are locking up more! Apparently, the Good Hair Day Dreadlock Fairy took pity on me. I will now sacrifice something in her honor...or just go around Target with my five kids and freak out the squares. I think she'd appreciate that.

That's not homeschooling. Oh, wait...

Before anyone says it...yes, I know one of the kids is still in pj's while we're homeschooling. I don't really encourage dressing on days when we're not going out and there's noone visiting. It creates more laundry. Don't judge.

I just wanted to share with you another facet of homeschooling; it happens everywhere and anywhere. Like the kitchen floor. I'm not exactly sure why they decided this would be the place to do some art. They have desks of their own, though they're a bit small, and the dining room table too but this day they decided to triangulate here. Each equipped with their own project.

Perhaps it's was because they could spread out. Discarding their scraps any ol' place around them.

Or maybe because it made collaborating just a bit easier.

Whatever the reason, when I see stuff like this I have to take a deep breath, quell that inner freak that thinks they should be at name-labeled desks (we used to have them) sitting quietly (they're listening to The Avett Brothers whom I'm currently obsessed with) creating something that has step-by-step directions and looks the same as everyone elses (I'm actually not sure what they ended up doing).

Then, I have to reassure that institutionalized freak that they are, in fact, learning. They're cooperating. They're talking nicely to each other. Doing that socialization thing everyone is so hopped up about. They're appreciating music and experiencing sounds of different instruments (they play a wicked banjo and Livi loves the banjo). They're creating, imagining, using scissors (fine motor skills) and tape (that's mixed media, ya know), sharing and doing something they love, not something I forced them to do.

Sometimes, learning is just all in how you look at life. At least, I'm learning that.

Max vs. a Marker

Even his teeth are Orange. Thank God for washables.

My Muse is Singing

Yesterday I pulled up Scrivener on my Mac emulator (don't ask me any more technical things about it, that is all the smart I know) after a quick 13 minute tutorial on Literature & Latte. As a reward for finishing NaNoWriMo, I was able to download it for half price. Woot!

Wow. What a fine piece of software. I spent a little bit outlining a new story and writing a tad on the first chapter. I can see me really getting into writing this way. It is just so much easier than trying to tackle a 50k document in one chunk. Why don't they have this for Windows?

I'm at an impasse right now with the new story. It can go any way. I can currently easily change a species to align with two different stories, thus making this new story the first in a series. I'm not sure. I haven't figured it out. Maybe if I write a little more the characters will tell me what species they are. Sometimes writing just works that way. You think the ones doing the writing are in control. They're not.

I also subscribe to a few sewing bloggers* and have been lusting craftily over some of the projects I see going on. It's making me want to take out the bags of projects I have waiting and get down to serious business. I even went so far as ordered a few import supplies to make some things for the new Etsy store. The chair recovering paired with the fabric porn is making me desire some quality time with my Babylock.

That's good. I need that creative outlet. I get cranky -just ask Rob- otherwise.

It would seem that I'm also hearing the Muse that was singing to the kids the other day. That's just fine. Bring it on, maybe I can get something accomplished.

*Kitschy Coo and Trina's Doings are the ones responsible for my renewed obsession

Rag Rug-Along week 2

Ok. I have a confession. I have no fabric stash as of today. I know, I know! But here is a good lesson here...I don't actually know what the lesson is but it's good. I'm sure.

I did actually go through the kids clothes but there wasn't anything in there since I just did a declutter in there a few weeks ago. I even went to the thrift store searching for lonely flat sheets but found none. There is one good thing about doing a project that lasts a season...we have time.

This weeks assignment is to get up more (or any) fabric for your rugs.

Next week we'll be washing and ironing to get ready for cutting. Remember you can join in at any time!

Heavy Hitters

I've been posting a lot about food lately. It's on my mind at least three times a day. Almost as often as changing diapers. (Actually probably moreso since I like it a whole lot better.) I've also been trying to work off a meal plan and cook more from scratch. While changing a baby diaper takes about a minute, cooking takes up a few hours, therefore ingraining into my mind and apparently spilling over to the blog.

As you can see from my popcorn and tuna casserole posts, we've integrated Nutritional Yeast into some of our food. It's been a complete hit and super easy to incorporate. It's easier than pureeing veggies to stick into other stuff so the kids won't know they're eating them. My kids actually like it and ask for it. Magic.

Next in line is Flax and Wheat Germ. Two seriously heavy hitters in the nutrition department. They're also fairly cheap, too. I picked up the Flax for just under $2 a pound at Whole Foods. During the same trip got Raw Wheat Germ for just over $2 for a fair sized bag. It was actually cheaper than the toasted. I opted for Raw for a few reasons;
1. because it was cheaper
2. because it has less flavor and therefore can be added to more things unnoticed
3. the raw version retains more nutrients than it's cooked brother.
4. because it was cheaper

I'm keeping the flax whole until it's needed but I've already used it in a pie crust recipe. I've added the Germ to pumpkin muffins, apple pie, yogurt and cereal. I'm not a nutritionist though so I can't say how many x per x we're getting in each serving. I'm keeping them in glass jars with an O2 absorber in the fridge to extend life.

The kids don't mind it. I think part of that is not making a big deal over it. I bet if I had gone to them and told them what was in or on their food they'd revolt. That's what kids do with stuff that's good for them. Actually, adults do that too...

Anyway, this is basically how the conversation goes:

Various kid "Mom what's all this brown stuff on my yogurt?
Me "Wheat Germ. Eat it."
VK "Wheat Germ??!"
Me "Not like real germs. It's special sprinkles. Eat it."
VK "I don't think I like that."
Me "Did you try it? I didn't think so. Eat it."
VK "Hey, this is really good!"

There you go. I omitted terms like "healthy" "good for you" "make you strong" etc. However you choose to word it, I think adding these two guys to your diet is a simple, inexpensive good nutritional move.

Popcorn Procurement

We like popcorn. Nay, we love popcorn. Trouble is, store bought micro-bag popcorn isn't anything to write home about. It isn't anything to write about anywhere, even here. Dispell the myth that you can't get inexpensive curl-you-toes scrumptious popped snacks in your own home without a lot of fuss. I guarentee with a little patience you can make the worlds best corn in your kitchen for under a buck a bucket and less than 10 minutes. You'll never buy it premade or ready to pop in a bag again.

First off you need something other than a microwave to pop your corn. We have both an air popper and a Whirly popper. You can also use a pot on the stove but I don't know how to do that...yet.

We stuck with the air popper for a long while as it was our first out of the bag experience popping corn. We didn't even mind dodging the nuclear hot kernel missles of the afterpops. The boxed bags of corn abruptly stopped finding their way in the house. I think I actually gave the last of it to our neighbor.

A few weeks ago I picked up the Whirly pop at Northern Tool for $8.50 on sale. Then a week later found one for $2 at the thrift store. They're out there. Cheap. Ask around someone probably got one for a holiday gift and hates it. They don't know what they're missing. I wanted this because it can be used without electricity. I'm looking at getting natural gas or propane in the farm house and want to use it during power outages. It can also be used in an RV or camping! I haven't used the air popper since.

For popping corn I prefer this brand off Amazon. The corn has a nutty flavor but it's light. It also has few old maid kernels left when it's all said and done. Experiment with brands and flavors and find what you like. There is so much more to popcorn than the plain flavorless white corn used in those silly little bags.

The top is a full batch, about 6 cups of popped corn, made in the Whirly Pop with 2tbs Olive Oil. I added 2Tbs salted butter, melted. Tossed it up to coat and then generously sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast. It gives it a nutty/cheesy taste which is uber-yummy.

The bottom photo is homemade kettle corn. The difference between Kettle and Caramel popcorn is basically the addition of salt. Kettle corn is sweet and salt. Caramel is just sweet (but by no means any less yummy!)

To make Kettle corn heat 1/3 cup brown sugar with 2tbs oil and 2tbs water to boiling. Stir and let it boil for 3 minutes. Make sure the corn is already popped because it hardens when it cools. Pour over the popcorn and stir with a wooden spoon to coat. Remember to sprinkle the salt on while you're stirring! I use coarse Sea Salt instead of regular table salt. To me it has a shaper salt flavor plus some added minerals.

I've tried out coconut oil, olive oil -both light and dark- and vegetable oil in the Whirly. I prefer the dark Olive Oil. Basically, any oil will work and will slightly lend it's flavor to the popped corn.

So, go forth ye corny fool and fire up the poppers!

How we teach Art

We don't. I like to think of myself as an Artist. I like to think I can wear size 10 jeans too but it doesn't make it true. I dabble in art and can make passable creations. But the point to making art isn't to create masterpieces, it's to enjoy making art. Thus, with that definition, we're all Artists. (And I can pull out the tag in my jeans and proclaim them size tens, how's that for creative?) I love fostering the ideas of imagination, pride in accomplishment and enjoyment of whatever it is they do, in whatever art form they choose.

This morning my lot was assaulted by a painting muse.

Still jammied and bleary eyed we pulled out the watercolors and paper. They immediately set to work.

We didn't discuss form and function.

We didn't discuss themes or periods.

We didn't talk about impression or realism. I think we were too sleepy for that anyway.

We didn't talk about famous artists or mull over masterpieces.

Somehow, though, I think they got the point of Art.

Recovering my vintage chair

I have this kick ass wheelie chair that we've had for oh, ten years or so. I love it. We got it at a thift store uber cheap, like ten bucks or something ridiculous. It's solid, heavy as heck aluminum. It had arms but we took them off long ago. One was broken, I believe.

This chair will be getting covered for the third time today. A make over for an old dame. I got some heavy-ish material from IKEA that matches the homeschool room and the honkin' huge vintage metal secretary desk I work from. If you haven't noticed, I like color. Maybe it's because I am virtually blind without contacts or glasses. The world is reduced to blobs of color. I want to drink in the spectrum. I might be really blind one day. If my double digit negative optomitrist prescriptions don't stop going even higher, it's possible.

Back to the chair. Here's the before. It's in a sad state.

Here are the two old layers of material I had used before to recessitate the beast.

Here is the new material. Only $7.99 a yard. I also pulled out my bolt of Warm and Natural batting and added a few layers. The original foam was literally crumbling.

For grown up eyes only -a naked chair. Drool over that, baby. Chairs ain't made like this no more.

And here is our vamped out sitting vixen.

The other absolutely wonderful thing about this chair? It was also made for recovering. I burned my finger twice on hot glue but damn if it wasn't worth it.

Tuna Casserole

Tomorrows post...today!

I had this on the calendar for our menu plan. I never bought, nor intended to buy, a box mix. That was fine until today when I set out to make it and also didn't have a recipe. Boxes are good for those. I relied on canned and dried food which makes this a pantry meal except for the butter and milk, unless you make your own. There are more than a couple of ingredients but not a lot of prep work and fairly simple directions. Here is my take on a Tuna Casserole. I tried to health it up a bit.

Ingredients

1lb eggless noodles
1/4- 1/2 cup dried onions
1 can salt free (sf) cream of something soup
1 can sf sweet peas
1 can sf jullien cut carrots
1.5 cups room temp milk
2 tbs butter plus more for topping
2 tbs whole wheat flour
2 tbs some kind of boullion
2 cans chunked tuna (you could also sub. chicken)
2 cups shredded white cheddar (using that Amish cheese again!)
pepper to taste
1 cup breadcrumbs
Nutritional Yeast

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375. Set a large pot with water to boil for the pasta, add boullion and onion to the water. When it boils, add the pasta.

-While the water is heating, get a medium sauce pan and melt the butter in it. Stir in the flour. Add the warmed milk. Wisk that together and cook for 10 minutes. Wisk in the cream of soup and tuna, add pepper to taste.

-Drain the pasta and onions just before al dente -or fully cooked- and pour into a 9x13 or larger casserole pan.

-Add the cream tuna sauce, peas and carrots to the pan and stir it all up really well.

-Sprinkle the top with the cheese and breadcrumbs. Add tiny pats of butter to the top.

-Bake for 35 min.

-Serve in a bowl with a nice sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

This filled my casserole pan and is quite hearty. This single dish will more than feed the seven of us (yep, even Max had a good bit). I hope to get more sustaining and use peas and carrots, milk and butter from our farm when we have it. Perhaps grind our own flour, fish the tuna and make the cheese. I already did well with the onions and breadcrumbs.

Baby steps and good food. That's what this is about.

V-day

Tomorrow is V-day at our house. No, it's not the one you're thinking of that happens in a few weeks. There won't be candy hearts and red balloons. Though, devotions of love will abound. This is a different kind of V all together. Rob's getting a Vascetomy. (Yes, honey, I did just post that to all of cyber space. Sorry. But if it makes you feel better, I don't think anyone really reads this anyway.)

It's been on the topic board in our house for a long while. Usually, after each kid is born we contemplate some sort of permanent birth control. For some reason, (actually, 4 little reasons that are running around here right now) we back out.

We get baby fever way too easily. We know it. We still can't help it. Babies are just delicious to our souls. That, and we get pregnant very, very easily. Other than Cordi -and now Max- I've been in some stage of knocked up every time a baby turns a ripe old one in my house. Even with Cordi it was only a couple months later. That's a lot of babies in a very short time. Alex will be eight this year, I'll be thirty. I've been pregnant for 45 months. I've breastfed for three and a half years. I can't even contemplate the number of diapers I've both washed or thrown out. We've been through at least half a dozen strollers, no less than eight diaper bags, and a good solid eighteen carseats. I think I'm ready to move on.

It's not that we're tired of diapers, cribs, car seats, strollers, baby food, soft soled shoes, slings, breast pads, teething babies, sleepless nights and washing bottles -though we are a bit - its more that we realize we're just not that much more elastic. Getting streched between five kids will teach you how much you can take. I love where I am now. I'm just strechy enough for this bunch. I have the strech marks to prove it.

I'm sad. Just a little bit. Hearing that heartbeat for the first time. Watching my belly expand until there was just no way in physics that it could get bigger. But it did. Picking out a name. Feeling the terrifying excitement when it's "time". I won't have it again. If you've ever had life quicken in your womb, you know what I mean.

I won't lie and say that finances aren't a part of our decision. So far, we've been doing fairly well. Of course there are things that we want to give them that we just can't but I think that's true for most everyone. Adding to our numbers will make it just that much harder. We want to get the farm built. Get out there on the land and make our kids lives rich that way. I can't build a house with a baby belly.

We've done our share of populating the world. If we have any more children they'll be children of our hearts, not my body. That's okay. I'm actually excited about that. We want to adopt siblings in a few years. After the house is done and we're settled on our farm.

So, at 8am on the 21st we'll be solidifying our committment to having no more biological children. I'm ready, yes. But I'm still grieving. Just a little.

Max's new hangout

Max is almost 13 months. He's at that age where he's learning to be a toddler. He's walking. He's babbling. He's eating finger foods. He's exploring. He's a veritable walking wonderland of firing neurons. Recently, he's learned that cabinets are not just nice-ish pieces of wood that line the walls of the kitchen. They hold stuff too. (Please disregard the messy counter tops, it was dinner time) 

Hey, check this out!

What are you doing Max?

Who me? Hey, there's more stuff back here...

You would not believe what's in here mom!

Uh, oh. Here comes Emmy.

Are you getting in with him?

Oh, you're shutting him in...

Open the door Emmy.

This is soooo much fun!

Hey, things can go out!

LOTS of things can go out!

Okay, that's enough. *Emmy comes over to see what he's doing and pour pirate booty in all the bowls.*

Thanks for the memories...and the dirty dishes.

Craft Book Give Away Update

Well, I was hoping to boost readership and maybe I did. I don't know. There was only one reply to my blog give away and they didn't actually fufill the requirements of the challenge so I'm not actually sure what to do. I think what I may do is donate all the books to a local charity. I'm thinking The Springs. I donate to them a few times a year and I know it's a good local cause. I've sent my money on to Haiti. I do what I can for those close to home too.

So, if you did in fact register through the blog following the instructions on how to enter and cyber space ate your comment -which does happen- send me a message. Otherwise, the books will go to the donation center by the end of the week!

Potato Zuke Bake

Quick, easy and yummy is how I like to cook. I'm not a great chef by any strech of the term. I'm a simple stay at home mom and I make simple at home food. I don't have time for bouillabaisse or reductions. Heck, I don't even know what those are! I also hate measuring. So, true to form, here is another almost recipe.

Potato Zuke Bake

Ingredients

4 medium russett potatoes
2 medium/large zucchinis*
Parmesean cheese
Romano cheese
Sharp White Cheddar cheese**
Salt/pepper to taste
1/2 stick of butter
Breadcrumbs

Instructions

-Chop up the potatoes and zucchini into 1/2" pieces (the smaller they are the quicker they cook but not too small or they'll just smoosh). Place in a large casserole dish all mixed up.

-Shred cheese over top evenly. I used about 1/2 cup total but you can use more if you like. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with 5 pats of butter, one in each corner and one in the middle. Sprinkle generously with breadcrumbs and add another 4-5 pats of butter on the top.

-Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. If your potatoes aren't cooking on the top, mix them up a bit so they're on the bottom and cook another 5-10 minutes.

*I used a quart sized freezer bag I had filled with chopped zucchini from late last year when it was uber on sale. Fresh is good but you can also use the zukes straight from the freezer without defrosting.

**I picked up some really great local Amish Made Sharp Cheddar Cheese over at the Bearss Farmers Market here in Tampa. It's well priced and made in Plant City. This is part of my desire to keep small local farms in business. Besides, they make a heck of a cheese.

Rag Rug-along Sunday

I've been wanting to make one of these for a really long time. I love the cozy comfort of it. The flow of colors. The reuse of materials. The durability. Now, I have not only the inspiration but the instructions thanks to Mother Earth News.

Every Sunday I'll be posting a Rag Rug-along update. We'll start today. Just peruse your house for materials you'd like to use and make a pile, keep going with this for the rest of the week. Look for materials similar in weight (thickness). Old sheets, shirts, lightweight pants. Pull out your fat clothes and make better use of them. Sort out your kids hand-me-downs and pull from the outgrown or sullied. If you can't find anything today, go check out your local thrift stores this week.

Your Rag Rug doesn't have to be a rainbow smorgasborg. Choose colors in the same palette or variations on a hue. Think about where your rug will be in your home. Entry Way? Kitchen? Bathroom? Kids Room? Laundry Room? Color your materials accordingly.

I'll be taking an approach similar to one I take with everything else: Not a whole lot of planning. Should be fun!

Send in your photos of your Rag Rug stashes and see them featured here on the blog throughout our Rug-along. Each Sunday I'll post my progress, your photos and the goal for the following week. The estimated time frame for a Rag Rug is a season so we'll take our time (since I have little extra of it anyway) and do this slowly. Then too, whomever stumbles upon our project will have time to catch up.

Be sure to tell your friends and other crafters. Perhaps we can have a Rug-along meet up later into the project. To sign up just post a comment on the blog!

I'd make Bill Cosby proud

We've all had those 2-in-1 desserts; Apple Pie Ice Cream, Cheesecake Brownies, Cookie Brownies, Ice Cream Cake, and the like. For some reason, people have a compulsion to add a desert perfectly delicious on its very own to yet another singularly delicious desert therefore creating a sugary black hole of euphoric bliss. I think it's added a thousand pounds to my hips  teriffic.

While recipe hunting on http://www.tastykitchen.com/ I found yet another double-your-pleasure caloric wonderland dessert: Pudding Cookies by fellow blogger Double Dipped Life. O.M.G. Here they are fresh from the oven. Perfection.

I tend to get all worked up over desserts which is good because I need to expend much energy to counteract all the scrumptiousness I consume. That I can, in fact, actually bake worth a darn is both a blessing and a curse when a delight of a recipe, like the pudding cookie, falls into my slightly-sweets-padded lap. Easy to make, simple ingredients, quick bake time; we have a winner folks.

And just to make you drool a little more...