Luck O' The Irish

Okay, so...this post is a week late, but...ummmm...better late than never I guess. On St. Patrick's Day I wanted to surprise Pacen with a cool breakfast, even though he normally doesn't want anything to do with breakfast. So, I drug my sleepy butt out of bed at 6:00 so I could get ready for work and get this special breakfast done before it was time to head out. Mind you, I am NOT a morning person, but if I have something special to do then I will get up at any hour. What is this special breakfast, you may be asking. :) Well, it was rainbow pancakes with little gold coin pancakes. Haha! Yup! Easy really. All I had to do was add food coloring to the pancake batter.

Well, I finally got the pancakes done and when I woke Pacen I told him there was a surprise for him in the kitchen. He looked at me and said, "MOM! It's breakfast isn't it? I DON'T eat breakfast!" (Obviously he's not a morning person either.) Well, he could obviously tell that his remark "deflated" me so he went in the kitchen to see what his surprise was. He was actually pretty impressed and decided he'd try a couple. Then he said, "Wow, mom!! These are the best pancakes that you've ever made! They aren't crumbly like usual." Haha! He is right though...normally my pancakes crumble and these ones were actually thick and fluffy. Maybe the luck o' the Irish was with me...helping me make perfect pancakes. Haha!


About ten minutes before we were to leave for work Pacen informed me that we forgot to dye his hair green like we normally do for St. Patty's Day. So, in a hurry I grabbed the green paste food coloring, dipped my fingers in, and proceeded to run them through Pacen's hair. What a mess! Luckily it got the job done and we were only a couple minutes late for work. Ummm, did I mention that Pacen had a wrestling exhibition the night of St. Patty's? Haha! Maybe it was the color of his hair that caused him to win...or the luck o' the Irish was with him. :)


"May you die in bed at ninety-five years, shot by a jealous husband (or wife)." ~ Irish Toast

Goodbye 20s, hello 30s!

Earlier this month I officially left the 20s. It seems so crazy! I'm actually really looking forward to the 30s! I have done/gone through a lot in my 30 years...all of which will hopefully make my 30s (40s, 50s, etc.) fabulous! I am now experienced with this little thing called "life". Well, obviously not an expert, but I'm a helluva lot more experienced than I was ten years ago. The 20s were like a "trial run". The 20s are spent trying to figure life out...how to live on your own, take care of the bills, work, and be a responsible adult. I think the 30s are when people really start to get comfortable with everything and a person can kind of take a sigh of relief. I'm not saying life is going to get any easier, although that would be nice, but now I'm at the point in my life where I just don't give a hoot about some of the things that used to bother me. I'm more carefree. I now have more of a "f*ck it!" attitude and I like it! This is MY life and I'm going to live it how I damned well please. So...GOOD BYE 20s, you were okay. HELLO 30s, I have a feeling you are going to be amazing!!!

Woohoo!!! 30s!!!

Ummm, let me explain the bright yellow wall, orange trim, and kid curtains. I switched bedrooms with Pacen a while back and I haven't had time to paint or buy new curtains yet. :) I do have the color created...I just need to find the time and motivation to paint.

"The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits." ~ Hervey Allen

Black & White

One day I was walking through my dining room and happened to notice the cool shadow that my candelabra was casting across the table. I was just starting to "get into" photography and I thought I'd try to get a nice picture of the candelabra and it's shadow. I took the picture in color...the candles are a pastel yellow and it just didn't seem right so I used Elements to change it to black and white and I was shocked at how amazing the picture looked after the change. That was about four years ago and this is still one of my favorites!


I'm joining Tracy at Tracy's Trinkets & Treasures for a black and white photo party.


"Colour is black and white put together." ~ Unknown

Pacen and Heroes and Snakes...Oh My!

Ever since my "baby" was itty bitty he has love snakes. I have no idea what, exactly, started his fascination with that particular animal, but he loves them...and honestly, I have no problem with that. When he was almost 2-years-old I took him to the St. Louis Zoo. Now, if you've ever been to the St. Louis Zoo you know there are life-like statues of animals all over the zoo. We wandered to a part of the zoo that had a very life-like statue of a snake coiled up around her eggs and in a somewhat "striking" position. She was pretty much as tall as Pacen and he wandered right up to her and put his little bitty hand on her head like it was no big deal. Okay, granted, the snake wasn't real, but it looked real and I would imagine most children would be scared of it. Maybe it was this moment with the snake statue that started his interest...I honestly don't know. All I know is that he went crazy for snakes. Anything that had to do with snakes grabbed his attention...books, clothes, movies, toys, etc. He soon began to like almost any reptile and amphibian.


I'm going to guess he was around 3 or 4-years-old when he discovered Steve Irwin. Steve quickly became Pacen's hero. Pacen was always watching The Crocodile Hunter. Pacen even dressed up as Steve for Halloween one year.


I'll never forget the day that Steve died. It was like a family member had passed away. It was so hard to tell Pacen that his hero was gone. He shed a few tears and became very quiet. Later in the day my dad noticed that Pacen was sitting on the front steps by himself (it's very unusual for Pacen to sit still and do nothing), so he went out to see how Pace was doing. He told us he sat down and asked Pacen how he was. Pacen told him he was doing okay. Dad asked, "Are you thinking about Steve?" Pacen responded in a sad little voice, "Yeah, Gimpy (that's what he calls my Dad). Do you think they'll put him on a paper plate?" Well, I guess, in the eyes of a child, a person should be memorialized by being printed on a Birthday paper plate. :) Sweet, sweet innocence.

After Steve passed away and his shows were aired less frequently, Pacen became interested in Jeff Corwin. Very similar to Steve, but yet so different. Jeff kind of became Pacen's new hero, although there is no way Steve will ever be completely replaced. Well, earlier this month Pacen got the chance to see a presentation put on by Jeff Corwin! My parents, Pacen, and I all went. During the show Jeff chose many people to help him with some animals on stage. I was hoping with every fiber of my being that Pacen would be chosen, but he wasn't. :( Maybe that was a good thing though, cause Pace wasn't feeling very well and I could just imagine him getting on stage and puking on Jeff. After the show Jeff did a book signing. Pacen and I got in line and I thought we'd end up waiting at least an hour, but...nope...Jeff whizzed right through the autographs. It took maybe ten minutes! Unfortunately he wasn't "posing" for any pictures so I had to hurry and get Pacen's picture with Jeff while Jeff was signing his book. At least Pacen got to see him in person and I'm sure that will be a memory he holds onto for the rest of his life.

Jeff signing Pacen's book

Oh, and if you don't already know (can't remember if I've ever posted anything about it) we are the happy owners of three, yes...3, snakes. Our first was a Garter Snake (common garden snake) that a friend caught. Pacen named him Bubba and he's been with us for I think 5 years. Our second snake is a Ball Python that I bought for Pacen on his 8th Birthday. Pace named him Bali. Our third snake was given to us last year by my friend who is a zoo keeper. The zoo was minimizing and got rid of some animals. It is a corn snake and "she" is gorgeous. Pacen named her Brooke. :)

"No, snakes are no problem. I'd go to any country, anywhere, any snakes, not a problem." ~ Steve Irwin

"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." ~ Ernest Hemingway

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Or in my case...Happy Singles Awareness Day! :) Just thought I'd share the Valentine's that Pacen gave to his teachers. Thanks to Eighteen25 for the idea! (She said she got it from here.) I thought it was so cute! Pacen even agreed that they were pretty awesome. We found these cool suckers at Wal-Mart. They are sign language suckers and we got "Peace" and "Rock On". :)


Hope you all have a fabulous day and may your hubbies/boyfriends/significant other remember you on this Hallmark Holiday. :)


"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." ~Author Unknown

Losing my mind

Right now I'm so overwhelmed and stressed that I think my head could literally explode at any moment. If I were a Zebra this is what I would look like...

(Thank you to Ben at Doodler Blog...)

I have so much to do...at work and at home. You want to know what my list consists of? No? Awww, c'mon! It might help me relax a little. Maybe the written list won't seem as bad as the jumbled mess I keep "seeing" in my head. Yes? Yay! Thank you for saving me from insanity! :)

Here is my list...or what I can think of anyway:

• Figure out this crazy account at work (it is literally a mess and not because of me)
• Create the On Call Schedule for the linemen (it always ends up creating conflict)
• Figure out the messed up inventory items (NEA might possibly have a gremlin that hides material...maybe the same one that hides my socks, hid a pair of my Spanx, and hid my passport)
• Find my passport and Spanx.
• Finish the bedroom switch (Pacen and I switched bedrooms so he could have more room. Maybe I'll find my missing items during the switch.)
• Finish the quilt I just started for Pacen
• Finish the cross-stitching project I started last year for a friend of mine who got married.
• Remodel both bathrooms
• Remodel the kitchen
• Paint my new room so I'm not surrounded by bright primary colors
• Smother Pacen with kisses because he is perfectly happy with the colors of his new room
• Book our Mother/Son vacation to Atlantis!
• Hurry and get my taxes done so I can pay for the vacation!
• Find my passport so I can go to Atlantis!
• Get Pacen a passport so he can go to Atlantis!
  
• Deep clean my kitchen
• Paint the outside of my house
• Build the pergola in the backyard
• Get Pacen's guitar lessons set up
• Workout
• Go to Missouri to see family
• Take Pacen skiing before the season ends
• Get my Christmas Tree off the front porch and take down the outdoor decor
• Breathe
• Get a haircut
• Remodel the back stairs into a mud room
  
• Fight the urge to break down in a crying fit
• Relax

Wow! What a list! Okay, I must be honest. You just read all that for absolutely no reason. I say that because it did absolutely nothing to ward off my insanity! The list is as big a mess as I imagined it! To top it off I have to find time to complete all this between wrestling practices and tournaments, clogging, shooting sports, etc. I'm having a hard time fighting the urge to throw myself on the floor in a sobbing mess of tears and snot. *deep breathes* *In - out - in - out - innnnnnn - outttttttt* AGGGGGHHHH! Who am I kidding?! I can't fight it...I will end up crying before the day is out, but life will go on. Maybe now you understand why I haven't posted anything since November. (As if anyone really reads this.) Okay, well back to my crazy hectic life. Maybe I'll see you sooner rather than later.

Best-Ever Carrot Cake

Last week one of the linemen (I work at an electric cooperative) brought me some carrots from his garden. I was so excited! Fresh carrots are the best! When I was little my sisters and I would run out to the garden, try to pick the biggest carrot, barely brush the dirt off, and eat it. Mmmmmm...so good! Anyway, later I saw the same lineman and he requested I make a carrot cake from scratch. He remembered the last time I'd made one, which surprised me cause that was a good 4-5 years ago! Wow...must've been a really good carrot cake! So, being the nice person I am, I went ahead and made the linemen a carrot cake from those fresh carrots. Pacen was so bummed that they got the whole cake so I let him have a sliver and tonight I made him a cake of his own. It will be a nice surprise for him in the morning. A not so nice surprise will be that he has to share it with me. :) The recipe I use is out of the Better Homes and Garden cookbook. Yes, the famous plaid cookbook. It is called "The Best-Ever Carrot Cake" and it lives up to its name. I also made Cream Cheese Frosting from scratch and used a recipe out of the same book. Here are the recipes.

Best-Ever Carrot Cake

4 beaten eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional, but I suggest you use it!)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups finely shredded carrots* (lightly packed)
3/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (optional...I didn't use them)

Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour (or use grease and wax paper) two 9 x 1 1/2-inch round cake pans. Set pans aside. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon (if desired...and trust me it should be desired), and baking soda.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, carrots, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool thoroughly on racks.

Frost tops and sides with Cream Cheese Frosting. If desired, sprinkle chopped pecans over frosting. Store cake in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*NOTE: The carrots need to be finely shredded or they may sink to the bottom of the pan during baking.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp vanilla
5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar (I only used 4 cups cause I think too much takes away from the cream cheese flavor.)

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. (Like I said...I only used 4 cups and it tastes great!)

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~ Jim Davis