FoodieLicious: 1980s Jello Blocks

Today's recipe features a taste of my childhood. Jello Squares or Finger Jello is what I think we called them, but not entirely sure. In any case, these were the staple finger-food dessert that my Mom made for several years for potlucks, summer get-togethers, birthday celebrations and classroom parties. Unlike regular Jello, the Blocks were extremely firm and would hold their shape forever and could be picked up and eaten by hand. I loved when she would make several flavors of Jello Blocks at once and serve them as a rainbow, a shimmering, scrumptious display in the eyes of a child.

About nine months ago, I was feeling nostalgic for Jello Blocks and looked up the recipe online. They are also called Knox Blox, which refers to to the ingredient that makes them extra-firm. I'm pretty sure this is the recipe my Mom used as well. Kraft Foods touts a 'Jello Jigglers' recipe, but it's not the same thing--too jiggly.

Knox Blox Finger Jello
from Cooks.com

3 pkg. Knox gelatin
4 sm. (3 oz.) boxes Jello (any flavor)
4 c. boiling water

Put Jello and Knox gelatin into a bowl. Add water and stir until
dissolved. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Cool in refrigerator. When firm, cut into squares.

Jello disappeared from my life when my teenage tastes changed. It resurfaced into my life during college with the simple recipe of Jello + Water + Vodka + tiny plastic salsa containers from Taco Cabana = Jello Shots! And since college, Jello gelatin has been pretty much off the radar. I think I was last served Jello at the hospital when I delivered my youngest child. Interestingly enough, I haven't seen Finger Jello at any kids' parties in the last 8 years either.

Jello Blocks popped into my head today when Thalia, Carys and I were at Luby's. The girls were eating their super-jiggly Jello cubes desserts, and I mentioned how much I loved Jello when I was a kid. I told them I had an even better recipe that they would love too. We're going to make Jello Blocks soon, and Carys has already requested Peach.

Oh Jello, how I've missed you and I didn't even know it!

Image is of Jello Jigglers because I couldn't find a good one of Finger Jello! From Kraft Foods' website

Creative Writing 101: Ten Favorite Scents

 

I blew off my creative writing prompt on Friday night because I was too tired to even turn on the computer! So here is my creative writing bit, prompted by Imagination Prompt Generator:

My 10 favorite scents or smells (in no particular order):

1. tropical fruity scents, especially on candles
2. cinnabons
3. garlic
4. freshly laundered sheets and towels
5. coffee
6. roses
7. honeysuckle
8. gardenias
9. new batch of fudge at the fudge factory
10. spring air

Whew! That was easy until I got to #9, and then I ran out of favorites! But I do love spring.

52 Blessings: Food

Thursdays will now feature 52 Blessings, every week for 52 weeks! I am borrowing the idea from Tracy Kosofsky's Resistance is Futile blog. Last year she scrapped a '52 Blessings' mini-album highlighting one of her blessings each week. I loved the idea last year, but just didn't have time for it, so this year I'm making time. The blessings won't be in any particular order, not in order of importance for sure as every blessing is important!


My blessing for this week: Food. There are two absolutely full refrigerators in my house right now. How lucky I am to have fresh, healthy and affordable food available to me whenever I want. And to have so many food choices each day. Yesterday I complained to myself that there was so much food in the fridge that I couldn't fit it all in; how fortunate I am to be grumbling about something as wonderful as that.

Book Nook: Tinsel

Image from www.hankstuever.com

About a month ago, I requested that the San Antonio Public Library purchase a copy of Hank Stuever's new book Tinsel because I wanted to read it. I could have bought it myself, but wasn't sure if it was the kind of book I'd want to read and reread over and over again. (It isn't.) The nice librarians at the SAPL must have liked my suggestion because in just a few weeks they contacted me to let me know my book was ready to be picked up and borrowed!

It's a bit difficult to tell you what Tinsel is about. Tinsel is a book that seems to touch on everything in modern society. Ostensibly, it's about Christmas in America in the 21st century. Specifically, it focuses on Christmas in Frisco, Texas, in the years right before the current recession. Frisco is in some ways is like every other suburb of a major American city and other ways distinctly different. It's about suburbia, mega-churches, "keeping up with the Joneses," consumerism, "made in China," families, genuineness and finding meaning in a holiday that celebrates an event that may or may not have happened exactly as we have been taught to believe it did.

I loved the book. I would recommend it to anyone because it's about so many things, not just Christmas. Just as Christmas itself is never solely about the birth of baby Jesus. I learned so much.

I learned so many new things about shopping and the retail sector, some of which I wish I didn't know. I learned that even as we're herded into lines that snake around big box stores in the wee hours of Black Friday, there is joy and humor to be found among those who are there. We may be programmed, and not so subtly, to be there, but we can still enjoy it.

I learned that Americans invest so much emotional work and energy into "believing" at Christmastime. Believing that a miracle will happen for someone who needs one. Believing that Santa is real, or at least making him real for their children, even if they don't want to believe anymore. Believing that decorating for Christmas serves a higher purpose. Believing that all their spending and giving will make them feel better about themselves and others.

I learned that I'm glad that I don't live in Frisco. That surprised me. One word that kept popping up in my head as I read Stuever's descriptions of Frisco was 'sterile.' I may grumble about where I live now, but I don't know if I could handle the shiny newness and perfection of a community that grew up so quickly in the middle of nothing and nowhere. There's obviously some of that in any new community, but it seems even more intensified in Stuever's Frisco.

I laughed and even cried through Tinsel. There's just enough snark here and there to make you laugh out loud. (And Stuever does a masterful job of not turning his book into a total snark-fest given some of the stuff he witnessed for three years in a row.) There is also sadness, the kind that calls for a Christmas-sized miracle to make better.

I hope Stuever tackles something else about modern American life in his next book. I'll never think about Christmas the same way again and I'm glad for it.

FoodieLicious: Tyler Florence's Mac & Cheese

The blog schedule is doing me in already, only 2 days into the new blog year! I posted today's topic yesterday and forgot all about Monday's food bit. *sigh* Is this a bad sign?!

Anyway, here is yesterday's topic today:

Tyler Florence's Mamma's Mac and Cheese
from the Food Network's Food 911

1 pound elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups plus 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar

Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well and set aside.
In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, to remove any lumps. Pour in the milk and cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 cups Cheddar and continue to cook until melted. Add the cooked macaroni and stir. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the casserole from oven, top with remaining 1/2-cup cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

My notes: I like to use garlic salt in place of regular salt. I also add a squirt of yellow mustard for "color." For a twist, I sometimes substitute half of the cheddar with another good melting cheese.

Thalia's drawing of her favorite food

This is my kids' favorite comfort food that I make. It's a kid-friendly mac & cheese, unlike other recipes I have that call for cayenne pepper and other "exotic" ingredients. I have served it countless times ever since I got the recipe in 2004 at birthday parties, holiday celebrations and potlucks. Even the adults like it!

I also heart Tyler Florence! (Although I've noticed he's not as cute as he was in the Food 911 episodes due to the extra weight he's packed on since then. Occupational hazard, I'm sure.) Nevertheless, he's a great cook.

Hope someone else tries and loves this one too!

Post-Holiday Shopaholic

I have a large Rubbermaid tub, okay several, filled with gifts that I buy throughout the year for Christmas and other important holidays. I would estimate that a large percentage of these gifts are purchased in the days immediately following a major holiday. No one loves a good after-Christmas sale as much as I do!

I used to shop post-holiday with very much enthusiasm but very little strategy, and would sometimes regret these purchases about 11 months later. I once got so caught up in the "everything's 75% off!!!" hysteria at Target after Christmas that I filled up two carts with stuff--Christmas cards, ornaments, wrapping paper, bows, gift baskets of coffee and tea, tree-shaped soaps, gift tins, Santa socks, etc. I pretty much bought out the store, except that I didn't need quite that many decorations or gifts. I eventually did use or "gift" most of the great stuff I bought that day, although it took a few years of gift-planning and giving to just the right person who would appreciate them.

Nowadays, my birthday, Christmas and other holiday shopping is much more streamlined and well thought out compared to those early years. I keep a spread-sheet where I record everything I buy to give to others as soon as I bring them home. This (almost) eliminates the "Oh, I already bought her a gift!" surprise months later. I buy birthday gifts throughout the year, whether or not a friend's birthday is coming up, if something just reminds me of her and it's on sale. (Then I buy her another gift with the extra money I saved!) I wrap 90% of our Christmas gifts by Veteran's Day (just some random date I picked out about 10 years ago and have stuck to it) and label them so I know who they're for. I also wrap birthday gifts two to three months in advance; this always cheers me up if I'm blue, to know that I'm planning for someone's special day.

Here are two successful shopping strategies that I've used in the past few years, now that I have school-aged kids and their friends are also past the toddler years:

1) Holiday Gifts for Kids-- I no longer buy toys to give our close kid friends like I used to. Too confusing to remember who had what or what I'd already given the year before! And getting more and more expensive as our friends' families expanded in size as ours did as well. My big idea: Christmas books for the kids. I love Christmas books, as I've already mentioned, and love even more giving them to other families. And the best part is they always go on sale at bookstores nationwide and online after Christmas! A few days after Christmas last month, Carys and I had so much fun selecting several books each for the kids on our Christmas list. Board books for the chubby hands little ones who are just discovering words, holiday puzzle books and Mad-Libs for the beginning readers, and really cool chapter books set at Christmastime for the older kiddos. And since they are all on sale when I buy them, I just buy more of them to give! Books, by the way, are not cheap. A mere paperback for kids can set you back up to $10. So books on sale are always a good thing. The only sad thing was having to pack them away in the Rubbermaid box until November!

2) Teacher Gifts--This may not be much of an issue for those whose kids go to very small schools or have few teachers. However, my kids go to an elementary school with upwards of 1,100 kids. Lots of kids = lots of teachers! When you factor in the number of rotation teachers (art, gym, music, etc.) and specialists in addition to their homeroom teachers, that's alot of teachers. Each of my children are taught by 10 teachers or specialists. When I was growing up, my brother and I always gave gifts to our teachers at Christmas. I loved picking out the boxes of Whitman's Sampler or French pastille candy tins for my teachers. I did this through high school! Even the teachers I didn't like. (That whole Asians-respecting-elders thing.)

Thalia and Carys love giving to their teachers as well. Each year, we start weeks ahead and make hand-made Christmas cards for each teacher. This year was quite a challenge for Carys, going from three pre-school teachers from last year to this year's 10! Card-fatigue set in quickly! Thalia decided to make scrapbooked cards for her teachers using my scrapbooking supplies such as buttons, ribbons, glitter, pop-ups, etc. They looked great! (She gets it from me.)

On my end, I am in charge of selecting gifts for the 9 rotation/specialist teachers and 2 homeroom teachers without breaking the bank! And I like the girls to be part of the process, so they go with me in search of fabulous treats at fabulous prices. Our go-to store: Michael's. Hooray for the $1 bins at Michael's! For the past four years after Christmas, we've found awesome office supplies to give as gifts to the teachers. Some years they've been holiday themed (ie. Mary Engelbreit Christmas) and some years not (last year's colorful flower motif). We've found decorative binder clips, post-it notes, notepads, magnets and purse-size tissue packs, all of which a teacher friend has confirmed they can all use more of! And since they're 50 cents instead of $1 each we buy several of each and mix and match for each teacher, creating a useful gift with zero calories. I like to think that months later, when they're reaching for a binder clip in their desk, they think of our family!

Creative Writing 101

One thing I want to accomplish TODAY is...

to finish putting away Christmas at my house, or at least get a little closer! We have two Christmas trees, the "fancy" tree in the music room, and the "family" tree in the living room. And between the two trees between 250-300 ornaments perhaps? Each ornament is wrapped in bubble wrap or tissue paper and put away in larger ornament boxes or individually boxed when necessary. That takes TIME.

In addition, Christmas explodes into almost every room of our house, including the bathrooms, so everything must be rounded up again and packed away. At the beginning of the holiday season, I pack away our "everyday" decor, such as picture frames, vases, candles, etc. and replace them with their Christmas counterparts. It's nice to have a break from the everyday stuff around the house but a pain to have to pack/repack!

The Christmas linens and kitchen and hand towels are thankfully already washed and ready to repack, as are the girls' holiday toys and books. Christmas cards are already taken down from the card holder, although I left up all the photos from friends and relatives--too cute to put away! Dylan already took down the outdoor decor a week ago, so it's just Christmas-y inside the house. I've already packed up too the after-Christmas sale items I've been stockpiling for the past week and a half!

Putting away Christmas is always a little bit sad for me. Decorating for Christmas is like creating a whole new work of art in your house, and then taking it all down destroys your lovely creation . . . until next Christmas.

Today's blog prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator! Thank goodness it was an easy one! (Image from Imagination Prompt Generator website)

Getting It Together

Happy 2010! Yesterday was Epiphany, the Twelfth Day of Christmas and the end of a long holiday season, so I feel like new year is starting over (for me at least) today. My holiday decorations are half-way put away, so Christmas lingers on a few more days at my house.

I've long thought that this meandering, floundering blog of mine lacked some organization and direction. Just as children supposedly crave order and structure, so does my blog-child. So I'm giving it what it wants/needs: a schedule! Just like my own kids. hahaha

For those of you who by chance visit regularly, here's the lineup of what to expect:

Mondays: Foodie Fun
Tuesdays: Product Reviews (a.k.a. Shopping) or alternately, Penny Pinches
Wednesday: Book Nook
Thursdays: 52 Blessings
Fridays: Creative Writing 101

Ambitious? Yes. Obviously this requires that I blog every day during the week. I've tried this before, with mixed results, as a result of blog challenges or blog prompts. The road to you-know-where is paved with good intentions such as these, but at least it will be fun trying!

So, starting tomorrow, my blog goes all organized! Even if no one actually reads the posts, I'll feel like I've accomplished something: the illusion of order in some aspect of my life.

So Gifted or So-So Gifted?

One of my favorite blogs that I try to visit daily asked readers this week what their "best" and "so-so-est" gifts were this holiday season. Easy! I love to play along.

Best Gift: Biopsy & MRI results confirming that I do NOT have cervical cancer, received 2 days before Xmas, after 9 days of waiting.

I went to my ob/gyn on Monday, December 14, for my annual exam. You know, the one with the slightly awkward, slightly uncomfortable pap test and boob check, that has always been boringly normal for me. Until this year. Just to keep things appropriately vague and not gross anyone out, myself included, there was a unusually large polyp growing in an extremely delicate area, where everything is usually microscopic. Silent scream. I will leave out the doctor's actual initial comments, which were kind of funny, and the details of the biopsy. Most significant statements: "This is not good" and "possibly cancer."

After a half-hour's worth of pity-partying in the parking lot of Costco, I got on with my life and vowed (ie. promised my friends) not to look anything up at all on the Internet. Like I needed to scare the &%$#@ out of myself even more. Patting myself on the back that I did indeed manage not to obsess or research any possible scenarios. Honestly, I was too damn busy being a mom-wife-volunteer in the throes of the holiday season. Thank God for that. There were cupcakes to be baked, gifts to be wrapped, cookies to be decorated, Christmas cards to be addressed, library books to be shelved, school parties to plan, and holiday entertaining to be enjoyed, in addition to laundry, cooking, Costco-shopping, chauffeuring, Girl Scouting, etc. of course. Oh, and my car was still in the shop that whole time.

Fast forward to being sent for several more tests the following week and having to wait over a week overall for the results. Cancer? Surgery? What is it?! On December 23, I received my early Christmas gift: no cancer! The polyp, while very large, was benign and not connected to anything even more frightening inside my uterus. No surgery or treatments. So thankful! (There is, however, the slight matter of "something" that appears to be attached to my appendix, but that is another story for another day.) So indeed, my best Christmas gift wasn't under the tree at all this year, and I couldn't be more grateful.

So-so-est Gift: Donna Dewberry One Stroke Painting Kit with store receipt inside dated 1/10/2002 from my MIL.

Now that I've told you all about my best gift, wanna know what else I got? How about a just-shy-of-eight-years-old drying up painting kit? Does everyone know who Donna Dewberry is? She's well-known in the crafting world for her painting techniques that have a certain "look" about them.

Yeah, you use these techniques on just about anything once you learn it, such as teacups, flower pots, drawer knobs, etc. Unfortunately, I think the look is a bit 'little-old-granny-ish' for my taste. And the 8 year old paints weren't going to be very useful either. Good thing the 8 year old receipt was inside the box because I'm sure they'll waive the 30-day return just for me, right? By the way, this was my "main" gift from my MIL this year, but in no way the worst I've received from her. Sad? Funny? Just all part of the joy of Christmas. :)

If you're reading this, what were your best and so-so-est gifts this Christmas?

Hello, Pretty Kitty

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This is an alert from the Emergency Retail Sale Broadcast System. The dedicated shoppers of your area in voluntary cooperation with the retail stores, both brick-and-mortar and online, have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency sale or newly released hot item.
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Ooooh, just found out about these pretty kitty jewels released in honor of Hello Kitty's 35th anniversary! Interesting to note that she is almost as
-->old young as I am!) If you'd read previous posts on my family blog, you might know how much I adore Hello Kitty from my Asian-girl childhood.
Zales is offering a rather wide selection of jewelry and bling-y accessories such as ear buds and iPhone cases from Simmons Jewelry Co. Basically, these are scaled down versions of Kimora Lee Simmons' more exclusive designs from a few years ago. I have always adored her Hello Kitty line, although it was always out of my price range, so this is a nice treat. Hello Kitty bling for the masses.

A few of my favorite blingy things
(Images from Zales.com)

And even better is the storewide 10% discount (through 12/13) and free shipping for $149+ orders. I heart Hello Kitty.

The Princess and the Frog? Mais Oui, Cher!

Image from the San Antonio Current website

This past weekend, I experienced another "first" in my not-so-young life: I attended a press screening for a major film! And then I wrote a review of it!

I was asked last month to review Disney's The Princess and the Frog for the San Antonio Current. This was my second assignment, and my first ever film review. (October's assignment, you'll recall, was my first ever book review.)

I was overly excited about going to a press screening and an added bonus getting to take Thalia along with me. She really looked forward to it, although commented that no one else she had mentioned it to at school thought it was particularly cool! (ahhh . . . left jaded by Disney at the age of 8).

The theater was packed for the screening, which was a combined press screening and sneak preview for the local Radio Disney station. Ever since teaser stills and trailers of The Princess and the Frog first appeared online earlier this year, everyone and their dog has had something to say about it. Animation fans. African-Americans. Feminists. Louisianians. However, I didn't watch it with any of those people. Instead, Thalia and sat in the packed theater with other parents and girls waiting eagerly to meet the newest Disney Princess on screen.

For my humble opinion on this new film, check out my review online at the Current's website.

Decadence

Well, that daily blog-prompting thing didn't last long with my too-full schedule over Thanksgiving! And now we are knee-deep into Christmas planning and celebrating. I'll revisit the daily blog themes later!

Speaking of holiday planning, Dylan and I did something so decadent last night--we hired a babysitter to put the kids to bed so we could do some Christmas shopping! Although I have actually been 99% finished with my gift shopping and wrapping since early November, I tend to do my best shopping for myself in the few weeks leading up to Christmas. hahaha The only thing that gets in the way of that, however, is having two kids in tow!

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to a special after-hours holiday shopping event at our Nordstrom. I had been invited once before, three years ago, and it was a lovely shopping experience--sipping white wine, listening to live musicians' holiday tunes, munching on strips of sugared bacon (more on that later) and truffles, while browsing new stuff at my leisure.

So when I got my invite, I knew I was definitely going back to Nordstrom. And I wanted Dylan to come along because although he is not a shopper, he would really enjoy this. And he was really curious about going.

The event last night did not disappoint. I go to Nordstrom frequently, but it was quite dressed up for the event, with tuxedoed waiters proffering wine, cocktails and yummy h'or dourves while a sharp jazz quartet entertained us all. There were lots of people there, so it was quite festive.

The thing I remembered most about the event three years ago was these awesome brown sugared bacon strips. People were going nuts over them. And they served them again last night!  Sybaritic Decadence. I was so happy. But alas, I only had one strip, when I could have easily eaten a dozen. They were that good. No worries though, as we also had great regular and tempura sushi and other great little bites.

I had several items on my "list" that I wanted to look for, and I amazingly found all of them! Dylan was just happy to eat, drink and carry my purchases and my wine glass as he followed me around the store--what a sweetie.

Some cool finds:

Ivory wrap desperately needed to keep warm at cold office holiday party


Adult-size slippers that are still ok for an 8-yr old girl

I love Nordstrom. They don't try to shove items down your throat when you say you're not interested. They don't follow you around the store. They don't have a gazillion items for sale, just a choice selection that makes the process easier. They have a wonderful cafe inside that my kids love. And they still respect the holidays--all of them:

Photo taken at Nordstrom 2 days before Thanksgiving, which is thankfully still a real holiday for some and not just a speed-bump on the way to Xmas . . .

We shopped some other stores besides Nordstrom as well and finished the evening off with dessert at Sonic! We would have gone for holiday lattes at Starbucks except that all four of the Starbucks around us were closed before 10 pm. Strange but ok, as my retro Coke Float was a perfect end to our shopping date.

My Perfect Autumn Day

This week's blog prompts are courtesy of the Imagination Prompt Generator, because Digital Scrapbook Place's daily blog prompts were too boring! (No offense, and what a great idea, but in general, I couldn't get excited about them.)

Today's Imagination Prompt:
Describe the perfect autumn day and what activities you enjoy.

The perfect autumn day, in theory, would involve some real autumn weather. Regrettably, we've had not enough of those kinds of days here in South Texas this autumn season. We have had temperatures in the 80s, ginormous mosquitos, and no excuses to wear our autumn finery. *sigh*

Another component of my perfect autumn day would be not having to be somewhere in particular at a certain time. Just free time to explore the changes in nature (again, in theory) and in my community: take in the leaves that have changed color and fallen from the trees, breathe in the cooler air, admire God's handiwork once again.

My perfect autumn day wouldn't be complete without some autumn food! Just this week I was craving a caramel apple, which I haven't seen anywhere lately. That's odd to me. I like sweet potatoes in the fall; they just seem to match the season in more ways than one. As does cranberry pork roast with apples. Hmm, I'm hungry for autumn!

T.G.I.F.

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day - Its Friday and what do you usually do on a Friday to gear up for the weekend?

It depends on whether or not the weekend is "full" or not. As a cake decorator, the majority of my orders are for weekend events, so Friday nights are often crunch time for me. Not at all laid back or lazy! If there's an event the next day that my kids are involved in (ie. Girl Scouts or parties), then I start planning for them on Friday, especially if they are early Saturday morning. I have to psych myself up for getting up early on a Saturday if I have to be somewhere first thing. If we are going on a weekend trip early Saturday morning, then Fridays, especially the evenings, are crazy busy getting everything and everyone packed and ready to go.

It's a rare treat for me to do nothing on a Friday night and even rarer to go out on a date night with my hubby on those nights too. But Fridays are still the best days of the week, in my opinion! No homework and no school lunches to pack for the next day!

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day - It's America Recycles Day. How do you recycle are your home?

We recycle constantly at our house. So much so that my husband wishes we recycled a little bit less! We have two bins in the kitchen, a paper bin in the office, and a large bin in the garage. Everything and anything that can be recycled and collected by Waste Management goes into the bins, except for paper which goes to our elementary school so they can make money from our recycling efforts. I also make an effort to make sure that nothing gets thrown into the recycling bins that shouldn't be there, as that defeats the whole purpose, and not everything can be recycled by Waste Management. When we lived in apartments, before we bought a house 12 years ago, I still insisted that we do our part by hauling our recycling to a drop-off place or someone else's house!

We also take old, recyclable materials (shoe boxes, coffee cans, egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, etc.) to Thalia and Carys's old preschool for the kiddos to use for art projects and creative play. In five years, we've probably hauled hundreds of little plastic and paper "gems" that we can't bear to throw out just yet!

Once a month, on a Saturday or Sunday, we take clothing, furniture, small appliances, toys etc. that have seen better days but are still usable or useful to Goodwill, Salvation Army or Medina Children's Home. In addition, barely worn clothing and almost-new toys go to children's resale boutiques here in town; my favorite is Once Upon a Child. It's oddly satisfying get (some) money back for my kids' stuff! Books, CDs and DVDs that we've grown tired of or outgrown find new life at Half-Price Books, where we can choose new (used) stuff to read and enjoy.

More recently, we've discovered Craigslist as a way to get rid of stuff that is in great condition but no longer needed. And it's really nice to meet the people who buy your couch/crib/TV in person! We don't even care how much (or little) we make on the transactions; we're just happy that our stuff goes to a new home that needs it. Last year, our couch that we'd had since the month after we moved in together in 1996 finally found a new life in the apartment of a college student on a budget! It was the comfiest couch we've ever own.

So, yeah, recycling and reusing in some way are really part of our everyday life. It keeps us from wasting even more than we already do, and helps us keep on top of things in our home!

Disney Faves

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day: Today is Mickey Mouse's Birthday. Do you have a favorite Disney character?

Oh, how I love today's question! Of course I have a favorite Disney character! Well, actually that isn't true. I have many favorite Disney characters, some beloved from my childhood and some new ones too.

I think the very first Disney animated movie I saw at a movie theater was The Rescuers, so those characters (Bernard, Miss Bianca and Penny) have a special place in my heart. I also saw Bedknobs and Broomsticks, re-released, as a very young child as well. I adore Bedknobs as a film, but none of the characters stand out as faves.

I also loved Mary Poppins. I still do. And Hayley Mills as the twins in the original Parent Trap. And Peter Pan, who I first saw in film as a high school senior when Peter Pan was re-released.

Our Daily Bread

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day: Today is Homemade Bread Day. Do you have a great recipe for bread to share or do you prefer to buy it already made at the store?
I don't make bread from scratch--ever. I have an aversion working with yeast. However, I do like to bake cake-like, non-yeast breads. But for 'regular' bread? That's what the grocery store and bakery are for!

I also am not a huge bread fan. I think it's my Asian upbringing, with rice being the staple at each meal. I did not eat bread every day growing up like other kids. I never even tasted wheat bread until I was a freshman in college! My husband loves bread and carby foods, as do my kids. I don't even really like stuffing at Thanksgiving, but will make it for my hubby. The only stuffing recipe I really like is, not surprisingly, made with wild rice!

Dylan and I eat stone-ground whole wheat bread, a little harder to find than regular wheat bread. The kids did too, until they discovered white bread, kind of by accident. Now they won't eat wheat bread unless forced to. So we have Iron Kids white bread as well. And some pita bread-looking things for lunches and croissants for breakfast. Lots of bread at our house.

My favorite non-yeast breads: Pumpkin Bread, Banana Bread. My favorite yeast breads to buy: Chocolate Babka, Challah, King's Hawaiian Bread (a taste of my childhood), Cheese Bread.

Now I'm very hungry for bread.

Button Day

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day: Today is Button Day. Do you prefer buttons or zippers or none at all?

Hmm . . . buttons. I never think about buttons, until they disappear and then I'm cursing them! For my own clothing, zippers make life easier and don't get lost. I detest sewing buttons back on. I'll wait months and months and months before I'll fix up a blouse or shirt that's lost a button! One particular outfit that belonged to Thalia's American Girl Bitty Baby sat in my "to fix" pile for 5 years before I finally sewed the button back on!

Buttons and zippers are equally problematic for little kids; Carys has a hard time getting her zipper parts together on her jacket. So do I when I'm helping her. Little kids' clothing have few buttons, mostly snaps. Her teacher sent home a note on Friday saying that she's having to zip or button up too many coats as well tie too many shoelaces. Apparently, this is something we need to work on at home!

I do like buttons on their own though! They can turn a blah piece of clothing into something better instantly. I used to love to look at all the different buttons on cards at the fabric store when I was a little girl. Especially the shaped buttons, like school buses or hearts or rainbows. I buy these now for my Girl Scouts to use for our craft projects!

Blog Prompts

Well, my NaBloPoMo dreams bit the dust last weekend, very early into November, when I went out of town and was too busy/lazy to pre-post a few days' worth of blogging. And I was trying to do this times 4 blogs, so it was a lofty goal. I managed to blog daily in November on 2 of my 3 blogs last year. Oh well, there's always next November!

In any case, I have a new plan to jump start my daily blogging: Digital Scrapbook Place's Daily Scrap Blog Prompt Challenge! Each day there is a topic to write and/or scrap about, which is just what I need to get motivated.

Some of you may remember that I tried to start my own monthly scrapping/journaling club that theoretically would have done the same for its members, only it too bit the dust due to my sad neglect. The Once-A-Month Memory Club, I believe it was called. It was a good idea, but not for me to be in charge of!

So I hope to blog daily here about whatever DSP's clever folks come up with. Wish me luck.

Love Letters

It's not our anniversary or even half-anniversary or anything, but for some reason my thoughts were meandering the other day and something made me think of the food at our wedding. Dylan and I were married on May 9, 1998 in Austin. We hired a lovely European woman named Frauke Baylor, who was just the most generous and caring soul you could ever want to cater your wedding reception. Her small but wonderful catering company, Blue Trout Catering, was so unique in their presentation of the small bites and sips, and the flavors were fabulous.

Flash forward several years into the future to 2007. A friend had requested caterer recommendations for her upcoming nuptials, and I looked up Frauke's company online hoping to find a website. (In 1998, not one of our caterer, photograper, DJ, florist or traveling minister had an Internet presence.) Was I ever shocked to see our own wedding on Blue Trout Catering's website! I literally stumbled onto our own wedding pic from 9 yrs before on a page appropriately titled 'Love Letters':

Our wedding reception, Umlauf Sculpture Garden,
May 9, 2009
Image from BlueTroutCatering.com. Photography by Anne Butler Photography.

I was so pleased to discover that Frauke's company was still thriving in Austin and to be featured on her site! I sent her an email that day thanking her for the wonderful food she created for us that day. I even told her that my cousin had mentioned to me at her own wedding, six years after ours, that she planned her wedding reception menu around what she remembered of ours!

Embellish-ment

Starting today, I'm wearing yet another "hat." In addition to the many chapeaux I wear as wife, Mom, volunteer, cake designer, etc., I can now add a brand new one: lady-whose-writing-has-appeared-in-print. The San Antonio Current, our award-winning local alternative gem of a news weekly, has printed my first book review.

This all fell into my fat lap by pure chance. And I have Facebook to thank in part for how it all came about. My writerly friend, Sarah, who is the Associate Editor of the Current's Arts section, mentioned in a FB post several months ago that there was a "paranormal vampire romance novel" she had to review. I'm a closet romance novel hoarder myself, so I had to open my big mouth and ask if I could borrow it. And then Sarah had this crazy idea that I should review it! So that's kind of how it happened in a nutshell. Thanks, Sarah and Facebook!

But really, I didn't think I could write a book review. I love to read, but this was something waaay out of my comfort zone. I write emails and short notes and occasional blog posts, with little attention paid to syntax or grammar or how interesting/boring my writing really is. In conversations, my vocabulary has become reduced to the same dozen words that small children easily understand. However, after some encouragement from Sarah over awesome crunchy spring rolls at Viet Nam Restaurant, I finally hoisted up my big girl panties and got to reading and writing. And surprisingly, I enjoyed the writing process.

I won't say any more about the book except that the title is Embellish and it was written by a San Antonio author, R.L. Sloan, because everything else is in my review. And here is the result of my labors (click on the lovely book cover):

Embellish by R.L. Sloan (image from SACurrent.com)

I Heart Stella & Dot

I went to my first Stella & Dot Trunk Show last week at a friend's house. I first heard about the company several months ago from a Facebook ad of all things (yeah, the targeted ads really do work). I was definitely curious, as it's a direct sale company, and if you don't already know, I am drawn like a moth to the flame when it comes to direct sales! And their product, fashion jewelry, seemed nice and trendy enough, from what I could tell.

So the Trunk Show isn't what I expected. There's no sales pitch or presentation to sit through, like at other jewelry shows. I've hosted a Premier Designs show or two before, and those are definitely a different experience altogether. The Stella & Dot gathering was really more about browsing, chatting, sipping wine and trying all the designs on. Waaaay more fun! I tried practically everything on and definitely stepped out of my "jewelry comfort zone."

Here is my typical, everyday jewelry wardrobe:

'Return to Tiffany' bracelet, white gold earrings, and a stainless steel watch

My daily look is pretty boring! Serviceable, subdued, conservative, lazy more than anything!

And here is what I bought from Stella & Dot:

Soiree Black Pave Bracelet that matches everything in my closet, since everything in my closet is black!

Soiree Champagne Pearl Bracelet for the upcoming company Christmas party.

Turquoise Sea Drop Earrings--I never wear colorful stuff like this, but these were such lovely stones.

Bloom Flower Ring, again something I would never usually pick out for myself!

Avery Chains & Pearl Necklace--definitely a departure for me. Will I really wear it, I wonder?!

Clearly I had a bit of a splurge! But I very, very rarely buy jewelry, so this was alot of fun. My jewelry either comes from my Mom, who adores jewelry and has made something of a hobby out of shopping for jewelry of all kinds, or the occasional gift from my hubby (hits or misses from both quarters).

I had such fun at the Trunk Show that I may even host one myself soon. And you really have to see the jewelry designs in person; several pieces I liked online or in the catalog looked completely different up close. The designs are fresh, fun, young and diverse enough to appeal to different tastes. I definitely noticed that at the show, where the range of guests' ages and tastes was quite wide and varied. I also have a very long wishlist of items I did not buy but absolutely have my eye on! I heart the pretty jewelry!

Images from TiffanyOnlineStore.co.uk and StellaDot.com

"Handmade? It Looks Like You Made It With Your Feet."

Mermaid Hair Clip by hibilly on Etsy.com

Well, it was just a matter of time. Some enterprising person was going to take the "all things handmade" website Etsy to task for being a little to Etsy-ish. Too tacky. Too cutesy. Too . . . something.

I heard about Regretsy from my in-the-know writing friend, Sarah, just a few weeks ago. I don't think the site's been around very long, the earliest archived post is from about 2 months ago. The site is priceless! Regretsy picks out the "cream of the crap" (their own words) that can be found on Etsy's website. You know, like the Woolen Tampon Cozies (aka Plug Rugs). Or the custom-made Corset Jeans, the "corset" being just below your ass and all the way down your leg.

Regretsy is to Etsy what Cake Wrecks is to the mediocre-to-crappy cake decorating world. And just like with the Cake Wrecks, on Regretsy you can't not look. Yes, the "crafts" themselves are something else when you're just looking at the pics, but it's the clever snark accompanying the item photos and descriptions that make you laugh out loud.

If you've never heard of Etsy before, you can read my blog post from about a year ago, waxed on about my Etsy-love. I still do love Etsy; there are lots of wonderful stuff to be had from some seriously gifted crafters. But I love Regretsy for shining a light on the not-so-great "crafts" for sale!


Have you seen this one yet? It's made from real moose poop! It's called the Doo Doo Nugget Necklace. You simply cannot make up shit like this.

It's NaBloPoMo Time!

Princess for a Day: An Invitation

You are cordially invited to take part in a fairy tale Mother/Daughter event, My Princess & Me, at the elegant and historical Red Berry Mansion on the Lake on Sunday, October 11! For just a $30 donation, each little Princess will receive a professional hairstyle from top hairstylists in San Antonio, make-up application, a tea party, music, dancing and a keepsake photo with her Queen Mum – all while helping support the children of St. Peter – St. Joseph Children’s Home.

Princesses will arrive in their most royal finery with their Mothers (or Grandmothers, Aunts, Sisters, Friends). All Princesses will receive a magical treat of hair design and makeup from our very talented fairies.

And this year, my company, Sweetest Whimsy, invites all Princesses to decorate their own royal cookie treats and dine on special Princess Cake and punch with their Moms! I will provide all the sweet ingredients for each girl to let her inner sugar artist come out!

There will be time for a fairy tale photo to remember this special day. What could be more magical than seeing hundreds of girls of all ages enjoying time with their Mothers and new friends?

Of course, this Royal Event wouldn’t be complete without dancing! Princesses will gather together and dance to great music with girls from the Royal Court. Special appearances by San Antonio Fiesta 2010 Queen of the Vine, Hannah Montana and other special guests!

And the best part of all? 100% of the profits from this royal event go directly to St. Peter - St. Joseph's Children's Home! St. P-J's is a home for children who have suffered sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, poverty and broken homes, as well as a community counseling and service center for families in crisis. This event is made possible by the many companies and individuals who are providing funding, services and in-kind donations, and I am thrilled that Sweetest Whimsy is a sponsor this year! I hope everyone will join me at the Red Berry Mansion on the Lake!

Event Details:

Sunday, Oct.11th, 2009

12:00pm - 4:00pm

The Red Berry Mansion on the Lake

858 Gembler Road

San Antonio, Texas

Ticket Information: Order Your Tickets Online!

$30 donation per person ~ Your entire donation goes to help St P-J's Home

(Or call 210-408-0101 to purchase tickets)

All images from My Princess & Me website

Half-Staff

Today on the drive home from Austin I noticed that all the flags in New Braunfels, and only New Braunfels, were at half-staff. I asked Dylan if he knew anything about it. He had no clue either, and we both thought it was unusual.

Tonight I googled for an answer to my question. According to the Herald-Zeitung (the New Braunfels/Comal County newspaper) website, the flags were being flown at half-staff in honor of a New Braunfels man who was killed in action in Iraq on July 19.

Today he returned home forever. And through Monday, his hometown pays tribute to a Marine who fell fighting for his country. He was 20 years old.

With a very grateful heart, I say a small prayer for him and his family tonight. Thank you, Lance Corporal Brandon T. Lara.

Doing Our Part

Yesterday Thalia and I did our part to shore up the economy by shopping spree-ing through the local mall. It's Anniversary Sale week at Nordstrom, and due to the unexpected excitement of last week, missed the beginning of the sale. They aren't kidding when the say "quantities are limited" on the special sale deals. Everything I wanted from the Anniversary Sale catalog was no longer available online as of Saturday night; the sale started Friday. I am usually invited to a sale "pre-show" which always cracks me up. Items from the sale catalog are on display in a trying-on room for your perusal. But this year, I wasn't invited to view the stuff. (I probably didn't spend enough this past year to warrant an invite!)

So after a quick visit to the pediatric orthopedic physician, who said Thalia's broken bones were healing nicely, we headed for the mall for some catch-up shopping. We tore through Nordstrom and amazingly found everything we'd wanted from the catalog (some were ordered from other Nordstroms to be delivered to our door for free--I love that). Thalia got shoes for school (crossing my fingers that they'll fit), Carys got an adorable t-shirt for school (probably too big but she'll grow into it), and I got some workout clothes. Then we bought other stuff we liked! All on sale and double Nordstrom points!

Thalia's new shoes for school. Can't believe she fits women's shoes now and is only a size and a half away from me! Eeek!

Thalia was so excited about lunch at the Nordstrom cafe, always a treat. She was even more excited that they had the "old" ranch dip back. The last time we ate there, about a month ago, they had replaced their usual ranch dip with a "new" different-tasting ranch which upset her greatly. She *loves* that "old" ranch and was very happy they were serving it again. Whatever! She has also adapted quite well to having only good arm right now as she was rather adept at using her fork with her other hand at the cafe.

We were in that "shopping" mood for sure by this point, so we ventured into the mall, beyond Nordstrom. Thalia begged to go the the "Lilly" store. Lilly Pulitzer, that is. She loves that it's all pink and green and flowery. So do I. And they were having a big SALE! Fifty minutes later we emerged with several bags of stuff for ourselves and birthday and Christmas gifts for everyone else. Although I had to talk Thalia out of a Lilly tie for her Daddy. And did I mention everything was on sale? Like 50-to-75-percent-off kind of sale?! We sampled all the Lilly fragrances while the salesperson kindly wrapped all of our purchases separately in adorable pink and green boxes (of course). Thalia and I liked the 'Squeeze' scent the best. It's also the "juiciest."

Lilly Lace Cuff Bracelet, not really my style, but will be an awesome gift for someone I know who loves this kind of thing.

How cute is this coin purse?! Thalia picked out several for us to give as gifts to favorite relatives.

Thalia magnanimously offered to carry one of our Lilly bags with her good arm as we made our way to the "make-up store," also known as Sephora. The store generally freaks me out, all those cosmetics and styling products in one place. But we were actually there for Thalia. They were having a half-off sale on Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers perfumes, and my daughters absolutely love those little East-meets-West girls! We were there to use some of Thalia's birthday money on a bottle of HL perfume. And also to buy some dry shampoo for her, which is practically a necessity now that showering is no longer an option due to her non-waterproof cast.

The Harajuku Lovers: East Meets West Cuteness

The HL girls, or as Thalia and Carys call them, the "little girls", were so cute in perfume form and all smelled so fruity nice that it was almost impossible for Thalia to decide which one she wanted. I already have one bottle myself, the Li'l Angel one, which started the whole love affair at our house with these "little girls" to begin with. And since the perfumes were 50% off anyway, we bought 4 of the 5 "little girls," all except Li'l Angel. We picked out Music for Thalia, G for Carys, Love for me, and one extra (Baby). And some dry shampoo, and oddly enough there were two other people shopping for it as well.

The "Little Girls" Fragrances. We bought 'em all.

Can't wait to try this out. Might be great to take on our campout?

Now we were really loaded down with bags and boxes, so it was time to head back to the car! Thalia's good and bad arms were both hurting now, and we both needed to get out of the heat. Funny how we didn't notice how the day got hotter and hotter until we were leaving! (And we were at an outdoor mall!)

Our shopping day wasn't over yet, however. Dylan came home from work with the suggestion that we use our coveted 30% off everything Kohl's coupon in the evening. So the whole family piled in the car and went to Kohl's!

We very rarely have a 30% coupon there, by the way, usually it's 15% or 20% off at the most. So we go a little crazy there when we do get the 30% off! We'll buy things we probably wouldn't have and look at things we definitely wouldn't have. This time around, we picked up:

• Girls Undies
• Girls Shorts and Top--lots of them
• Men's Jeans
• Men's shirts
  
• Yankee Candles
• Digital Frame
• Greeting Card
• Girls Skirts
  
• Drink Dispenser
• Running Shoes
• UT Logo Wear
• Perfume
• Girls Jacket
• Girls Tank Tops--perfect to wear now that Thalia's cast won't fit regular sleeves
• Pink Lamps

Pink Clip-On Lamp, times 2.

Goes-with-lots-of-things plaid shorts = $3.36.

High School Musical undies, 7 for $7.

Our only Kohl's shopping rule is that whatever we buy has to be on sale, and the bigger the discount, the better. I love weeding through the 80% off racks at Kohl's, and I'm a natural speed shopper so I do it quickly. They're just begging you to look when they're at that price! So the 30% discount is on top of the 80% markdown. And some of the stuff we bought were for gifts, and it's always great to be able to buy more for our friends and relatives at the same price.

Thalia and Carys adore going to Kohl's. It's practically the only true department store left that sells a bit of everything, including toys and games. They love the tiny toy section, and also weaving through the rounders and racks of clothing, as well as trying on lots and lots of pairs of shoes.

So our Monday was definitely our day to contribute to the economy! And I have to say that everyone who assisted us at each of the stores was very pleasant and helpful, something I rarely say. Only two items were purchased full price (much needed bike shorts and dry shampoo), and we can also cross gift-shopping off our to-do list for fall birthdays and even Christmas.

All photos from Google Images

For Steve & Tyra: Forever & For Always

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life

which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart

i carry it in my heart

e.e. cummings

Happy 15th Anniversary! We love you!