S Club Mama

I attended a pie-making class at our church recently and since then I'm a pie-baking expert. Ok, expert may be too strong of a word...but I love to do it! I've made an apricot pie (at the class...and I didn't really make the stuff just put it together but it was delicious), 2 apples, and a pumpkin. Today I made an Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie - I'm beginning to be daring. I've found this book at the library, "Pie" by Ken Haedrich. I'm hoping for (but not holding my breath for) this book for Christmas. I wanted to share with you the pie I made today. Basic Flaky Pie Pastry (single crust) 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1 T sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces 1/4 c. cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces 1/4 c. cold water To make by hand: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Toss well, by hand, to mix. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and toss to mix. Using a pastry blender (which...

Mama Kat's (pretty much) World Famous Writer's Workshop gives us bloggers a break on figuring a topic once a week. It's been awhile since I've participated but I love Mama Kat & always read her blog. This week I'll be writing on prompt #5: What’s your stance on ‘labeling’? Were you labeled as a child? Have you labeled your own children? How do you feel about this?  I wasn't labeled as a kid. My school didn't have a gifted program so the only labels were for those who needed extra help. I really wish I would have gone to another school with a gifted program. I think being challenged in school more growing up would have helped me (maybe) with acting out in high school. I also would have been better prepared for college. Having two sons who have labels (autistic and speech delayed) gives me conflicting feelings. I have a good friend who HATES labels - and I understand her feelings. Labels can give kids opportunity to put down or make fun of those who...

*Some of these events may be out of order, but you get the idea* Over 4th of July weekend in 2004, I drove from my hometown in central Nebraska to Cheynne, Wyoming. There I met my boyfriend, Big A, and we dropped off his truck at my parents' friends' brother's house (phew!). Then we traveled to Kimmerer (this is not a misspelling either), Wyoming where I met his aunt and uncle and cousins. There, we talked for way too long, ate good food, and watched their wedding video (where Big A and his brother were the ring bearers - too cute). The following day, Big A & I went to where he had been staying in Wyoming. I apologize because I've forgotten the name of the town. That night, he made me dinner. Spaghetti and garlic bread. I'll admit this now: I had overheard my mom and him talking on the phone about this dinner. I was on the phone with her and she'd gotten another call from Big A. Let's just say she talks loud...and it sounded to me like he was going ...

If you're unfamiliar with Mama Kat or her pretty much world famous writer's workshop, please check her/it out. It's pretty fantastic. Anyway, this week, one of the prompts was to write a letter to my future teen. Some day I will have teenagers, that's a shock. I suppose while they are still small and cute, I should write my angsty boys a letter to remember why I love them even when they hate me. Dear Moose, It seems like only moments ago you were three years old, waiting for your first day of preschool in the midst of a blizzard. I was moments away from sending you off into the big, bad world trying my best to help you overcome autism. We were thrown into the midst of this disorder without a life vest, but you worked so hard. At first it was just sounds that you finally caught on to after months of work. Then your eye contact improved and you developed an imagination - a very active one! One minute you were completing a whole finger match book and the next you...

Simple. Life used to be simple. High school was simple. School. Work. Play. School. Work. Play. (Not always in that order and definitely not in that priority) My money didn't have (as many) bills to pay. I could afford $100+ jeans and the newest fashions (sort of). My bestie and I spent too many hours partying with nothing better to do than drink. I boy hopped in my latter years of secondary school. Perhaps not on purpose but I had no sense of time it seemed. And yet, in ways, my life is so much simpler now. I don't have to worry about heart aches or breaks. My kids and husband are always here for me. My money goes straight to bills so less temptation to spend on non-essentials. My nights at home are remembered and memorable. I have no school or job and yet, my life has much more purpose. Simple times may seem simpler in retrospect, but to live in the here and now, is priceless. This post was brought to you by Mama Kat and her Writer's Works...

10. House 9. Bob Harper - I mean, Biggest Loser 8. Parenthood 7. who doesn't love pretty leaves? 6. Go Big Red! 6.  lack of these 5. dressing in warm clothes without a coat (yet) 4. I love warm pumpkin pie...or pumpkin anything 3. There is nothing I dislike about Thanksgiving (except yams) 2. 'Tis the season to be jolly 1. dressing like this soon c'mon, for Halloween, not every day! These are not in any particular order but are brought to you by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop . 

"Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin' for, worth fightin' for, worth dyin' for, because it's the only thing that lasts." - Gerald O'Hara ( Gone with the Wind ) Maybe it's the Irish in me. Or the mom in me. My biggest material desire is a house to call my own: not a rental but one that we have bought with hard-earned money. I've put aside this dream for a long time now, not seeing how we would afford a place of our own. It's hard to put a dream aside, it feels like a little piece of your heart is buried. So I will, for the time being, brush off the dust and tell you about my dream house. -------------------------- Victorian style. If we're talking dreams, that is mine. Even when I play the Game of Life , I'm kind of disappointed when I don't get the Victorian house (even with it's $100,000 price tag). My aunt used to own a house built in this style, minus the widow's walk (no water nearby to pine...

It is again time for Mama Kat's (pretty much world famous) Writer's Workshop! The prompt I chose from this week's list: 2.) If you could do your wedding over, how would you do it? (Inspired by this tweet “I am watching TLC’s wedding shows and this makes me want to get married again. Same groom but a totally different ceremony.” by Jen @BuriedWithKids ) Oh if I could do my wedding over again! Let me tell you that quite a bit would change. Let's just pretend that we wanted to renew our vows and throw a big bash again (oh for the money or desire to throw a big bash again)! My bridesmaids would be: My older sister, my baby sister, my bestie Laura, and my friends Tessie & Mandy. My husband's groomsmen would be his brother, our friends Kurt and Cale, and his boss Seth. Yes, the sides would be uneven; I'm cool with that. My sisters would walk down with his brother.  Our ring bearers would be our boys, of course!  The color scheme would be fuschia ...