A Dose Of Shrooms

Vern and I went for a walk in the woods today to get some fresh air.

I found these cute little mushrooms just begging me for a photo opportunity.

In an attempt  to keep my creative juices flowing,I turned them into a creative photo blog for today.

Enjoy

:)

Doggi Cannoli

"Hello,HR Department. This Is Cara. How May I Direct Your Call?"

November 1st..oh boy.
I have been a lazy blogger. (That means that I got a lot of house work done)
Halloween came and went and that means that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Honestly...
There are so many things running through my head tonight. I sit here and contemplate...do I want to chatter on about the "lighter" subjects or do I vent about the deeper stuff? What is the blogging emotional outburst etiquette anyway? Is it ok just to burst out in a good bitch session every once in awhile without freaking people out?! (ok,I admit that I am kinda cracking myself up now :)...)
All in all I am fine. No one died,no one is sick and overall life is good.
That being said...
I am struggling with the newest chapter in the "Step Mom Handbook".This chapter is titled "You Can Talk Until You Are Blue In The Face But They Don't Listen"
 It's almost strange how a child that is not your own can still give you gray hair and wrinkles. This is round two for me. It was a little easier with David because he was so young,it is so very different with an 18 year old. I was on such a great maternal high last week! But..Trevor crushed that with a wild night out with the boys this weekend.
BUSTED.
There went our whole weekend.
Ruined.
A supportive lecture about good choices from both of us, just hours before it all happen..
a waste of breath.
I know that I am an inexperienced parent and a hard ass  when it comes to rules and discipline. So most of the time I bite my tongue.
I know that children will hurt their parents more than they will ever know ...and despite it all, parents love their kids more than life itself.
It's just not fun to be the person to have to sit back and watch it all happen and not get upset.
But I must remember the rules for successful step parenting-The Step Parent is a support system and not the CEO...not even the Vice President....more like the Human Relations Department.
Got it.
Proceed biting tongue.
It's worth it to help the man I love and keep our "company" strong.
I'm just not going to pretend it's always easy.
Thanks for the vent
I do feel a little better
:)

Not Another Manic Monday

Do you ever get tired of my randomness?!
I won't be shocked if you told me my blog reads like a bad book.
So many thoughts...all scrambled up and spewed out in no particular order.
But..I keep blogging.
There are worse things in life right?
haha

I LOVE MAPLE BAR  DOUGHNUTS WITH CRUMBLED BACON TOPPING.
Thanks to Legendary Doughnuts a new addiction has begun.
http://legendarydoughnuts.com/
Check them out! I am picking another dozen up tomorrow! Ok maybe two...

New quote of the day,by Me

"If you choose to create nothing but drama in your life,that's your choice and I won't judge you. If I choose to avoid you because of that drama,that's my choice,please don't judge me."

Vern and I washed 6 loads of Trevor's laundry this weekend.My"maternal" side loved every minute of it :) It was all worth it when Trevor dropped by my work the next day to thank me. Such a nice kid he is! All the ladies at the salon melted and commented on how sweet that was for him to be so grateful. I agreed! Next thing I knew we were shopping for a Halloween basket full of goodies for him! I know,I know,he's 18 but...I am my Mother's daughter. She decorates and makes treats for EVERY holiday and now I know why,the fun of doing something fun and making someone feel like a kid again, is a great rush! I guess all that laundry really got my "maternalness" going? Well...let's not get carried away.I know what you're thinking. I did my nurture thing,now I'm all better. The "3 kids" (Del,Trevor,Chipper) I have are enough for me!

Off to the big city tomorrow to take a friend to an appointment. Say a prayer for Vern's truck.(JUST KIDDING HONEY!!!) I promise to return safely with doughnuts :)This time I will take pics of them.You must be missing the food porn by now? Last time I was too busy eating them to stop and take a few pictures ...

Again,thanks for reading my randomness..
Hang in there,
it might get better.
Might.

Thursday Night Insight

What do you blog about at midnight?

I could tell you about tea..?

Sleepy Time Vanilla is a happy new evening habit :)

Buutt..

I see that a new tea habit is going to require teeth whitening strips.

Coffee in the morning,tea at night..

not good.

I could tell you about the life transition I am making.

The reality that Vern and I will be living in this house for at least 5-10 more years has begun to sink in.

It's Dels' house but he is happy as a clam up in his new addition..

So that leaves the downstairs to Vern and I.

 I want to embrace my female needs to "nest" but I have been patiently trying not to change much so far.

I am told I have the freedom to do most any upgrades I want...

I guess it just hadn't really hit me until recently that we are here for the long haul.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I'd assumed we would get our own place..

someday?

That was before I realized that we would like to retire in 15-20 years,

take vacations,

have fun toys like campers,boats and a nice truck,

work only 4 days a week 

and all without the looming stress of home ownership!

Ok not so bad :)

Time to nest!

(don't let me fool you,I have the kitchen remodel planned in my head already,the bathroom almost done and I'm on the brink of solving the small dark living room issue before I completely overhaul that room too...)

Paint,rugs,stain and a whole lot of DIY projects later..

this place will feel like home.

Our home.

Oh and I am SOOOO excited!

Guess who's wonderful boyfriend ordered a new Rachael Ray knife set?

.

.

.

.

Mine did!!!!

He's the bestest! 

Thanks Baby!

I am waiting patiently for 4-6 weeks.

Mostly because that's my only choice...haha

Speaking of...

Have you ever visited CSN stores online?

I am a new fan,they have so much stuff you can get sucked in for hours!

I am not getting paid for this commercial...haha 

but I will be doing a future blog with  link to CSN that will earn me a $35 gift card!

Sweet!

For now,go check it out-

http://www.csnstores.com/

Alright,sleepiness has finally won,

no more midnight blogging for me tonight.

Happy Friday

:)

Somebody Pinch Me...This HAS To Be A Dream!

 Oh lookey what I found on the internet! I am drooling,my head is spinning...BACON?! Yum.
http://www.evilchefmom.com/2010/10/caramel-coconut-chocolate-chip-and.html

caramel, coconut, chocolate chip, and bacon magic bars: adapted from food & wine november 2010

1 1/2 sticks salted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 large egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces bacon, finely diced
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut (6 1/2 ounces)
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup salted roasted almonds, chopped
One 16-ounce jar caramel
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving up to 1 inch of overhang. Spray the paper with vegetable oil spray.

In a medium saucepan, cook the butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and browned, about 4 minutes. Scrape the butter into a large bowl and freeze just until solid, about 15 minutes.

Using a mixer, beat the sugar, vanilla seeds and egg yolk into the butter at medium speed until blended. Add the flour and salt and beat until moistened crumbs form. Press the crumbs into the prepared baking pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the crust is set and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, wipe out the bowl used to make the crust. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and let cool. In the bowl, toss the coconut with the chocolate chips, almonds and bacon.

In another bowl, whisk the caramel with the condensed milk; pour two-thirds of it in the crust. Lightly press the coconut-bacon mixture over the caramel and condensed milk mixture. Drizzle the remaining caramel mixture on top.

Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the bars cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Carefully remove the bars from the pan and peel off the paper. Cut into bars and serve.

Split Pea Soup

I made Split Pea Soup today for the first time. It turned out great despite my "alterations"! For the most part I followed the recipe on the bag of split peas. It went something like this..
1 pork roast bone in,
1 bag of frozen soup stock from a previous soup(mine was a mix of diced veggie scraps from "Make Ahead Meal Days") or soup stock with diced carrots celery, onion,garlic etc.
Cooked in the crock pot until the meat pulls apart,approx 4-5 hours.
Pull the majority of the meat off the bone a freeze or store for future meal.
Add meaty bone and stock into large saucepan and boil.
Rinse peas and add to stock. Simmer for about 2-3 hours,stirring frequently.
Add more pork as desired.
When the bone is boiled clean,remove it.
The recipe called for milk and it just so happen I was out so I added a can of cream of mushroom soup instead and a little water. Yum!
I cooked for another hour and WA LA!
Yummy,thick Split Pea Soup!
Cheap,easy and enough to feed an army....or at least freeze and store for the winter ahead!

I know this may seem like a silly recipe to share but I also know...
#1-how difficult it can be to think of meal ideas and
#2- how nice it is to cook dinner without a trip to the store!