Hair today. Gone tomorrow

Today I'm saying goodbye to my hair with six + inches being taken off and the gray being colored away. I hope it turns out nice and I love it when it's done...or more importantly next week when I have to do it.

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Facebook Friend collectors

I've been getting a few facebook friend requests lately.  Some I know, some I don't.  Either way, I noticed something about facebook.  I love facebook.  It's so nice to be able to keep up with family and old friends and people I hang out with currently... or just whomever.  But the last year, since I've discovered the false-ness that can be friendship and the two sided people that I get involved with and the lack of sincerity in friendship in general I've really started rethinking my facebook friends.  Why do I need to be "friends" with someone I never talked to a day in my life until I joined facebook?  Why am I friends with someone I used to know 15 years ago when I was in high school and a completely different person, but we did not value our friendship enough to maintain it over these last 15 years?  Why am I friends with people I generally don't care about?  Who do I want to be "friends" with?  I'm friends with my sister, my daughter, my mom, my step mother, my aunts, my grandmother...  You get the idea.  Being friends with family is important because like my cousin said, it makes it feel like family is just down the street, not across the country.  I like watching my cousin Katie grow up, succeed in college, become a beautiful young woman.  I like seeing my sister and her boyfriend and all of the fun things they do.  I can be a part of my family's life even when I can't be there.  And, likewise, I can let my family watch the girls grow up and be a part of our life even though they are hours away.  But what about these *other* people?  Do I approve their requests?  Do I collect friends like coins that I have somewhere, but never look at or care about?  Do I let these other people see my life and what's going on?  Do I become another of their number?  When they have 200, 500, 1000 or more friends, do they even know I'm there?  Do they even remember me?  My one status a day... does that really come up in their feed?  Am I the only one that doesn't want to collect friends on there?

Valentine's Day Party!

Tonight I'm getting ready for a co-hosted Valentine's Day Party for Sophia.  We are going to make Valentine's.  Denise made cupcakes and is bringing juice.  Cara has two tons of decorating materials.  I am cleaning house, moving furniture and generally getting ready.  But... Dave has made me concerned about having enough snacks for not only the kids, but also the adults.  So, I've decided to make cookies.  Yep.  Cookies.  I'm going to make Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies.  (I'm reminded of the episode of Friends when Phoebe pronounces it with a very bad french accent.)  I'm also going to make Annette's White Chocolate Chip CranRaisin Cookies.  So, here is the recipe for these delicious cookies that I absolutely LOVE.  I miss Annette and love her dearly.  I can only be thankful that before we parted ways I was able to get the recipe.

2 1/4 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup cranraisins
(optional 3/4 cups nuts)  - we don't use nuts- allergies and stuff

Preheat oven to 350

Combine Flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl

Cream butter and sugars.
Add vanilla
Beat in 1 egg

Gradually mix dry ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips and cranraisins
drop by well rounded teaspoons onto baking sheets

Bake 9-11 minutes or until centers are set.

Cool.  Eat.  Lots.  Lots.  Lots!  Yummy!

my Ballerina

I have one tomboy and one ballerina. I love ballerinas, especially this one.

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Where's the blog?

So, here it is the 4th of February and it's been a month since I last posted anything.  It's a busy month getting into school, getting started with the teaching assistant thing, doing tutoring and trying to do the usual Mommy things.  I did do some cool things I want to share though.  And I'm going to figure out how to link this blog to my phone so I have more ready access.  If I can figure out how to post some pictures that would be nice because of some of the crafts and foods that I like and think are pretty.  We'll see how that all goes.

I'm going to go ahead and confess that going meatless has not been readily supported by the family and has been difficult to stick with.  So, we've switched to "Meatless Mondays" or more specifically, meatless one day a week or more if I can squeeze it in.  Since I'm not home for dinner two nights a week (Mondays and Thursdays I'm tutoring Geology) I have to find quick and easy crock pot meals.  One would think that meatless meals for those would be simple, but so far... they're not.

Also, Sophia is eating spaghetti and meatballs pretty much every meal now which is definitely NOT meatless.  So goes the picky tastebuds of a three year old.

I did make these adorable flower hair clips.  These things go for $8.00 at Claire's and I think mine cost a total of fifty cents each.  I hope to post some pics and a step by step "how to" on it.  You're gonna love it.  After making them, I'm more determined than ever to get my sewing machine back up so this blog may turn into... I don't know what with the crafts and cooking.

Well... it's almost dinner time and the three year old is desperate for my attention so here's a quick and easy recipe that is so super yummy.  Sophia and I mixed this one up tonight.  It's my grandma's banana bread (slightly modified).  I like to make it into muffins and it freezes easily so you can make a big batch and freeze them, pop them in the microwave for a minute and voila!  Breakfast on the go.

Nana's Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2-3 very ripe bananas
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

*I use a rubber spatula to mix everything, no mixers.

Cream softened butter and sugars (both brown and white)

Add eggs, mix

Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, mix

Mash bananas until somewhat smooth, add to sugar mix

In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking soda, and salt
Slowly fold flour mixture into sugar mixture until all mixed up

Pour into well greased bread pan

Bake for 1 hour

Be sure to do the toothpick test in several spots to make sure it's baked through the middle.  I usually add 5 minutes at a time if it's not done.

Refrigerate after it's cooled.  We actually like to eat it after it's cold with butter spread on it.  Mmmm...