Nachos ala Gayle

Hubby was gone the other night. I was getting ready to put the monkeys to bed. I was getting bored. I called my friend Gayle. I hadn't talked to her since the day after Christmas, and that's just too long. We chatted for a bit and she asked me what we did for New Year's Eve. I told her (that because of our crazy Christmas) we spent a quiet evening at home, complete with Rotel dip and chips. Who DOESN'T have that on New Years??? As any good conversation goes, we stopped talking about the kids and our schedules and focused on the food. She asked if I had put taco seasoning on the meat that I added to the Velveeta. And I replied No. And she asked if we dressed it up with lettuce, and I replied "No, but if you keep talking like that I am going to get a hankrin for Nachos!" To which she replied, "Me too". And that's when we decided she would come over with nacho fixin's (minus the Velveeta, because I still had some o' dat) and we were going to feast properly. What a great friend! She ventured out in the freezing weather to the store, and then to my house. And that's when I learned how to make the best nacho plate ever. She made her plate first, and I copied every layer.
1. Crushed tortilla chips in the center of the plate
2. Lettuce encircling the chips, making a nice green decorative boarder on the plate
3. Hamburger--with taco seasoning-- on the chips (not on the lettuce)
4. Rotel Velveeta Dip on the hamburger
5. Sour cream
6. a squirt from the packet of "taco vinaigrette dressing" that came with the lettuce (WONDERFUL STUFF WITH A KICK)
6. shredded cheese
7. tortilla chip strips
8. more tortilla chips layered on the lettuce

We feasted. I don't know if it was the best nachos I've ever had because a) I was hungry b)they were just plain wonderful or c) because it was shared with my friend.

Use #567 for Duct Tape

Making sure the 7 foot artificial tree stays in the storage container that is too small to house it.
Mister who invented Duct Tape, This Bud's for you!!

Somehow I talked my husband into letting me throw out our old artificial tree last year after Christmas with the "plan" of purchasing a new one on clearance. And then when I went to shop for the clearance Christmas tree, the stores were already sold out.

And then I forgot.

Two weeks before Christmas the oldest monkey was fussing that we really needed to put up our tree, so I sent her out to the garage to find the box. It had housed an artificial tree that served us well over the last 11 years. And it too was held shut by the trusty duct tape. But alas, the box could not be found. And I hear a little bell in my brain reminding me that maybe, just maybe, last year I disposed of this tree. I couldn't remember for sure, so I called my sister to see if I could have really been this barbaric. You see, when I do anything major, like throwing out a Christmas tree, or throwing out holy socks, I call my sister to let her know just because someone needs to know what I am doing. Someone needs to care. So she humors me and listens to all my goings on.
She chuckled and said she did remember the day I threw out the tree. Yes, it was gone. And sadly, we were not in a position to fund a new tree just before Christmas. Before majorly flipping my lid, ideas started swirling in my head. Ideas like "paint a tree on the wall" and "make a tree out of construction paper, complete with fringed branches". Ideas like "let the children have a hay day with the arts and crafts supplies. We can repaint next year". And then I remembered there is a magnificent thing called "Freecycle". I am a member of this group! So I turned my computer on and went to my Freecycle page, and sent out a plea for a free Christmas tree. It went something like this: Wanted: Artificial Christmas tree. Doesn't have to be fancy. Prefer all pieces present.
That afternoon I got a reply from someone who had a 7 foot tree waiting for a new home!!! But it needed a stand. I knew my hubby would fashion something for a stand, even if it was made from potatoes and a coffee can. I set up a time for pick up, cleaned out my trunk, and loaded the 3 monkeys in the car to go get our new tree! We brought the tree to its new home. And it sat in its box for about a week awaiting a stand. My hubby didn't concoct a stand, for I found one at Hobby Lobby. The Saturday before Christmas my oldest begged and begged to put up the tree. I was not feeling the greatest, so I supervised with my head resting on the arm of the couch. I watched as she gingerly took all the branches out of the tote and separated them into their color coordinated families. I watched as she started assembling the pieces into a tree. I watched as this tree started to take up all of the space in my living room. We live in a modest sized house. The way I had moved the furniture to make room for the tree to be centered in front of the picture window was not going to work. The tree was covering a couch cushion from both couch and love seat: across from each other on opposite sides of the room!!! When she stated 7 foot tree, I thought "great! We have 8 foot ceilings!" But I failed to think about the width that accompanied the height. oops. I told my monkeys, "Daddy's not going to like this tree." And as the next row of branches was added to the tree I said, "Daddy's going to make us take this tree down." And when I could no longer see my book case or window, I exclaimed, "This is not going to work! This tree is bigger than our house!" And that's when my daughter put her foot down. "Mom, I want a Christmas tree! We can live with this tree for a week! Daddy's just going to have to deal with it!" And that was the end of the argument. She was working diligently on the tree when all of a sudden she threw a branch and screamed. She had seen a spider. I got a tissue and captured the spider as she freaked out. She yelled, "No wonder that lady wanted to get rid of her spider infested tree for free!" I had a little shiver run up and down my spine as well, so I got out the vacuum, hooked up the hose adjustment, and proceeded to vacuum all of the remaining branches. Then started laughing and praying the tree wasn't really infested. She finished putting together the tree, and applied the lights, and then helped her brother put on the ornaments. The tree was indeed a beautiful tree. I really think the only reason the previous owner got rid of it was because it needed a stand. The color was gorgeous. The branches were full of life and not brittle. It was a great tree. The next day I figured out how to arrange the furniture so we would be able to be in the living room with the tree without having to sit under the tree. We enjoyed our treasure for not only one, but two weeks. And then I decided we didn't live at the North Pole, so it was time to take it down. I did that deed myself one night when the oldest monkey and my hubby were gone hunting, and the little monkeys were in bed sleeping. I don't know how I did it, but somehow all the branches got stuffed back into the little tote the tree came to me in. But it was so full the lid wouldn't stay on. I thought about waking up the little ones and having them sit on the box. But then I figured I couldn't store them in the garage with the tree for the next year. So I found the solution. With each strip applied to the tote, I smiled and said a little blessing for the inventor of Duct Tape. And finally, the tote was sealed and ready to be stored. Did you see the little black thing on the floor by the tote? Can you tell what it is? A mouse. My son thought it was really funny to plant his rubber varmints he received from Santa all through the house. I found a spider on the piano. But I'll save the rubber spider story for another day.

The Etsy store is now OPEN!!!

I have been rolling around the idea of having my own Etsy store for almost a year. Then life and fears and finances got in the way. And finally the other night my hubby and I were talking and he told me to just take the plunge and do it. In November I created my profile and policies, but didn't list any items for sale. Yesterday and today I have been working on stocking the store. There may only be 6 items available at this moment, but hey, they are available!!! So, when you have a free moment, why don'tcha mosey on over and take a gander at the goods. Here's the link! http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewLongFareWell?ga_search_query=sewlongfarewell&ga_search_type=seller_usernames
Give me some feedback! Please let me know what you think!! And thanks in advance for stopping by!

Funny lyrics by my son

Christmas is not complete without a Christmas song blunder. My kids were in the kitchen one night coloring in the oversized "Twas the Night Before Christmas" coloring book and singing their favorite little Christmas songs. The list included Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and everyone's favorite, Jingle Bells. In the midst of really belting it out, my 4 year old son stops mid stanza, and says very frustratedly "No, No, No!" He corrected my 11 year old daughter. "Its 'Soap and Sleigh!'" Ho Ho Ho

We Survived Christmas 2009

As we gathered 'round the tree last night to thank God for sending his Son of Light,
we also thanked him for letting us survive Christmas 2009.
The day started out with a phone call.
Receiving that information I tried not to bawl.
It seems someone said they were me
as they used my debit card for purchases in Asia and Turkey.
That was on top of me nursing the burn on my arm.
The day before I was sewing and to my alarm,
when I turned 'round to reach the scissors,
the iron on my forearm made lots of sizzles.
After my kids opened their presents with glee,
we jumped in the car to go see our family.
We had pancakes at my dad's, then headed to my mom's.
That's when the bad luck really hit like a bomb.
While playing a board game, thinking it would make all at ease,
my son started gagging and choking and couldn't breath.
I was across the table, so I couldn't whack his back,
but all of a sudden a game piece popped out of his mouth
and landed in the box with a thwack.
The snow was still falling and there was ice on the ground.
Fourteen nieces and nephews were running around.
The ham was starting to cook up real nice
when we got a call from my aunt and uncle who could not travel to be with us because of the ice.
My sister and her family had planned on going home, but didn't leave;
through the blizzard they didn't want to roam.
So, some were snowed out and some were snowed in, and through all of this we kept up our chins.
During all this, my step-brother's family did not want to be missed.
They drove through the bad weather to get to us and what a sight,
along the highway they saw off to the right
a MoDot grater truck stuck for the duration of the night.
The aroma of ham was filling the air.
The timer on the oven beeped and mom took it out of there.
She proceeded to place the dish on the stove so it could cool.
Little did she know she was about to be a fool.
Instead of turning the heat on under the spuds,
she turned on the burner under the ham and it wasn't a dud.
The dish of Pyrex glass heated up fast.
The next disaster happened in a flash.
There was no warning, just a loud burst.
It's a miracle no one in the house got hurt.
You see, the dish exploded and sent glass shards flying.
My mom and my baby immediately started crying.
There was glass on the counter and glass on the floor.
Just when they thought they got it all cleaned up,
then they'd find more.
Then the next part really ruined the mood.
There were tiny glass shards in all of the food.
We rummaged through the fridge and the freezer
to see if we could scroung up enough to make a left over buffet pleaser.
But there were 24 mouths to feed and we didn't know if there was plenty.
So I made phone calls to Perkins, Golden Corral and Denny's.
Finally I got a hold of someone at LeMaire's,
and they said we were welcome to eat catfish there.
So we all bundled up and headed that way.
It was getting late and no one wanted to play.
We waited patiently and laughed about the day.
The food was cooked fresh and served to us piping hot.
But an enjoyable Christmas meal it was not.
My little nephew took one bite of fish and spit it out,
and then started flailing his hands about.
His lips started swelling and his face got hives.
We were all worried for his precious little life.
My hubby and step-sis rushed him to the ER.
He got the care he needed from the doctor.
When my hubby was driving the Surburban back to mom's,
he tried to stop at 16th and Ingram but something went wrong.
He slid on the ice, the truck wouldn't stop.
So he hit the car in front of him.
His bumper did pop.
The night wasn't over. That wasn't all.
My sister had an asthma flare up,
thank goodness for Albuterol.
To top off the night, my brother-in-law needed the Tums.
His ulcer flared up and he was really bummed.
At that point we decided to call it a day,
and head home and pray the bad luck stayed away.
My mom was laughing so that she wouldn't cry.
We hugged and kissed and said good bye.
We're going to make t-shirts, and my hubby is writing a song
to document all of the things that went wrong.
But the one thing that helped us hold it together
through all of the mishaps and all the bad weather
was to know that God was still in control
and Jesus Christ is still on the throne.
I hope your Christmas has been merry, and unlike our, not too scary.
All of the events mentioned above did happen at our family Christmas, December 25, 2009..

Puff Pancakes

I love this recipe for puff pancakes. It's my go to recipe when the cupboards are getting bare, or when I am too tired to fix a nice and normal supper. The kids love it. And there's so many variations of toppings to make one's palate pleased. I personally get a kick of how it puffs up when cooking, and I have a little let down when the puff falls after being out of the oven for a minute or so. Here's the recipe: Puff Pancake

1/2 c. flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
Pinch nutmeg
1/4 c. butter
Powdered sugar

Mix flour, eggs, milk and nutmeg together, leaving batter a bit lumpy. Melt butter in 9" pie plate; pour batter on top of it. Bake 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Sift powdered sugar on top. Serve at once with maple syrup.

I usually double the recipe for my family. It's not real filling by itself, so I serve it with eggs and bacon, or alone for more of a snack. Our favorite toppings are powdered sugar and syrup (not the most healthiest of all meals...). But some like apple pie filling or crumbled bacon and spinach and cheddar cheese. One can vary in any way he chooses for a scrumptious delight. I found the recipe on Cooks.com, along with about 40 more variations-- one with the batter made in the blender with orange juice as one of the ingredients. Haven't tried that one yet, but sounds yummy. Bon Appetite!

The Worm Who Grew Too Much

When leaving a place of business a couple of weeks ago, all clad in warm clothes and rain coats (because of the 13 straight days of rain we were receiving), I was suddenly intrigued by something that caught my eye.
Now, I know earth worms surface during rain spells. And I also know the ones that live in my neighborhood are usually 6 inches long or shorter. And, it must be said, my son, being on the fresh side of 4 years old and having many environmental allergies, has not yet experienced the joy of puddle jumping and worm catching and digging for worms, like some of the rest of us. So, I did not want my son to miss the opportunity of his little life to see THE WORM WHO GREW TOO MUCH. It it by far the biggest worm I have ever seen, but I thought it was awesome. And had my son not started screaming like a little girl, "Get in the car!!! It's gonna get us!!! Get in the car!!! It's gonna get us!!!" I would have picked it up and played with it a bit. My son immediately grew cat claws and instinctively stuck them in my leg and sides out of great fear, as I laughed my head off. I tried explaining to him that worms can't hurt us, that their mouths aren't even big enough for us to see, and all the great worm facts I could come up with at that moment in time. He was still scared, I still laughed, I got him and his sister buckled in their seats in the car, and then I took a picture of this worm of all worms. The mother of all wigglers, the most giant of all night crawlers, and the most amazing annelid I have ever seen.