Valentine's Day - what does it mean to you?

I'll ask this at the beginning so it doesn't get lost in my lengthy post. Happy Valentine’s Day to all. I realize that today means different things for different people. I’d love to hear what your traditions are on Valentine’s Day. Leave me a comment.

For me Valentine’s Day has lost much of its appeal. When I was little my favorite part was decorating our “mailbox” (container) I’d get to take to school and anticipate all of my valentines from all of my school mates. No one had to tell us to write a valentine for everyone, that is just what you did. You even gave a valentine to the boy who drove you nuts or didn’t smell so good and not because someone handed you a list of names. As I became a teen and even into college days Valentine’s Day became more anticipation that someone might surprise you with something to brighten my day. Of course getting something was much more exciting from a guy than any of the girlfriends.

20 years ago on this day Nick was driving west to move out there before we got married. He missed arriving on Valentine’s by a day. At first I was really disappointed that we wouldn’t get to spend that day together. But I wanted him to arrive alive and determined then that Valentine’s Day wasn’t nearly as important as our wedding day would soon become to us. This was emphasized on our first Valentine’s Day a year later when I realized on our meager budget that I’d much rather Nick not spend any money on me when he could get twice as many flowers for the same price, in 6 weeks for our wedding. YES I love to get flowers and will never tire of them. So the tradition began. There have been a few times where we have gone out to dinner or this morning, to breakfast. But I do not anticipate anything more and I’m completely fine with that. I know that in 6 weeks we will celebrate being married for 20 years and although we aren’t going anywhere exciting just like our 10^th and 15^th (when we were poor grad students), it’s OK we are simply happy to be together.

Now Valentine’s Day is much more for the kids. Dan is on his way out of the pass a card to everyone stage! Sam has a few years left. Honestly they really don’t care about it either. I live in a house of boys. So it becomes a much bigger deal to me. I have also never been one to buy a box of traditional Valentines cards, anyway. I have this deep inner drive to be different and since the boys don’t care too much they usually go along with whatever I come up with.

This year it was all about chocolate. For Dan we took sucker sticks and put a marshmallow on the end. The store just happened to have pink ones! He isn’t into pink but that’s OK, we covered them in melted milk chocolate. Then dipped them in colorful sprinkles (do you know I had a hard time finding valentine sprinkles that weren’t just colored red sugar?). He also did half with chopped peanuts, his favorite and he knew several kids at school who would like them. I was surprised to learn these really are much faster to do that one might think. I am going to remember this concept for other things. I found the idea here. However, the ones I found were made with two marshmallows on a stick. I have to say that is a lot more work, hard to get the marshmallows not to separate and honestly eating a single dipped marshmallow is MORE than enough sugar for a treat!

Sam’s valentines were a little more time consuming but not by much. We took pretzel rods and broke them in half. Then dipped each end in colored dipping chocolate and wrapped with valentine sentiment crayon labels. I have to say they are really cute. I found the idea here.

To sum up my view of Valentine's Day, I'd have to say that for now its simply a venue for me to do something different and creative that the kids will enjoy sharing with their friends. I don't love my family and loved ones any more or less because of this day. It is simply just another day in anticipation to a better one in 6 weeks.

A day for good luck...

My shortest blog entry to date! This is how we started off St Patrick's day.

Halloween 2009 Recap

I have been given a strong urging by my husband to NOT go to church today and to use that time to get some extra rest. I have been fighting off a chest cold and haven’t had much time to rest and after a chilly breezy time outside for trick or treating I really began to feel awful last night. I’m sure I will end up at the Dr tomorrow but rest is always good. However, I promised that I would not sit at the computer during that time but would actually rest. Therefore I’m trying to write this blog before church starts so I can keep my word. OK I didn't quite make it but close.

I wanted to give a Trick or Treating recap. Of course although not trick or treating directly, we have to begin the day before Halloween. Sam’s school has a traditional dress up parade. It has become an anticipated event to find out what the entire staff dresses up as. Last year the principal and secretary were Mini and Mickey mouse with all of the staff as Mouseketeers. I think it was one of my favorites. Although I must say this year still gave me great entertainment. The principal, he dressed up at Snow White and the secretary, she was dressed as the wicked witch. All of the teachers were dressed as the 7 dwarfs but of course more than 7 of them, just lots of duplicates. Still, very cute. Because the parade was indoors and I have yet to find a good setting for a good picture inside at a distance I don’t have much to show for this event. However, I did help in Sam's classroom for their class party. They packed in 7 different activities or crafts in a short time along with lots of goodies.

Dan’s school doesn’t have a parade but they were supposed to parade to areas relatively close to the school to visit some care centers. However, due to the flu concerns here that was cancelled for them to simply have some class parties. Just as well considering we had 4” of rain that day (see picture of neighbors back yard).

This year we only had Sam with us for trick or treating. Dan went with his friend Andrew around Andrew’s neighborhood. We have had a 3 yr tradition now of meeting up with our friends the MacKenzie’s to go around their neighborhood. The kids were off like lightning. Again my favorite stop is at the home of therapy dogs Boomer, Baxter and Murphy. Their neighborhood gets crazy busy and reminded me last night that just because its Halloween doesn’t mean rules of the road don’t apply anymore. Signaling ones intent would be particularly helpful to navigate the cars stopped in all parts of the road for who knows how long as well as people crossing in and out without much regard to these large heavy motorized vehicles that could cause great damage even at extreme low speed. We also all went to a club house where a group of Senior’s gather to enjoy the fun. The kids are to parade in front of them and then there are little bags of goodies for the kids. After this we hung out with our friends the Lowrances where they had the perfect little spread of veggies and dip and my favorite tortilla chips and warm cheese dip. That hit the spot. Yeah for something that didn’t have sugar in it. They also had fun things for the kids including this funky little brain. It’s not edible and maybe the size of a large rat brain? But it’s kind of sticky and Sam took his out after we got home. Bindy, the Lowarnces dog was staying at our house so she didn’t have anxiety over the door activity. Well, she looked pretty cute with Sam’s little sticky brain stuck to her, nestled into her long hair. A very good Halloween look and too bad I didn’t get a picture.

Before we headed home we then went to pick up Dan and see what kind of fun he had. Now the neighborhood he had fun in I guess is well known for the loot you get. His bag weighed 4 pounds and this of course after I’m sure much was enjoyed. There were plenty of empty wrappers in there too. But the biggest surprise of the night was his news about one of the more lucrative stops. The story goes that the guy was handing out envelopes with money in them. They were told to pick an envelope and that there were $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills and that one envelope had $100. When they got back from gathering their loot and opened the envelopes Dan once again proved that he has better luck than anyone in this house. He had a $20. What kid goes out trick or treating and not only comes home with 4 pounds of candy but $20 cash as well? I guess someone probably came home with $100 or a $50 but the $20 Dan got will long be remembered around here! I’m sure this guy will have plenty of people knocking on his door next year. The question, will he do the same?

24th on the 25th

Again a beloved holiday has come and gone. One of my favorite celebrations and one that brings back fond childhood memories is the 24th of July, Utah’s state holiday celebrating the arrival of pioneers. The memories are filled with parades, chuck wagon pancake breakfast (that we would stand in line for a LONG time), fireworks, the rodeo and family celebrations. Besides family and friends it is one of the few things I miss about Utah. Since moving away we have tried various ways to celebrate. Some have been more grand than others. This year we celebrated the 24th on the 25th because Dan and I both had other commitments. Our celebration this year was not super grand but was simple and enjoyable. We saved up some fireworks that we bought on the way home from our trip out west. Then our friends Becca and Steve (not to be mixed up with my niece Becca and her new husband Steve) who are probably the closest thing to family here came over. Bindy came too! Bindy is our part time dog. We love to watch Bindy while Becca and Steve go places. So this is kind of her second home.

We had BBQ, corn on the cob, fresh fruit all typical summer fare. We then made homemade sweet cream ice cream. Steve picked some black raspberries and made some topping from it. WOW was that a great combo, fresh ice cream and black raspberries! Then came the fireworks. We did sparklers that don’t have the nasty hot metal at the end! There were some loud fireworks and some that went pretty high - did those really leave the ground? My favorite was a fountain that shot bright red that reminded me of lava. It was a red white and blue combo alternating between the colors and then doing all three at the end. Aside from my 20 mosquito bites, despite the 2 coats of bug spray, we had a good time.

As a side note we didn’t have a rodeo. However, this past week we enjoyed our own wildlife show. We had some cute fawns play in the backyard at lunchtime and also went to a fun new petting zoo, Martin Family Fun Ranch in Clare County. Rodeos were kind of interesting the few times I went but I think going to a petting zoo with the kids or watching our backyard wildlife can actually be much more entertaining than watching people getting bucked off fast moving animals!

Happy 24th, celebrated on the 25th, written about on the 26th and blog posted on the 27th.

MARTIN FAMILY FUN RANCH

MORE BACKYARD FRIENDS

Lemon Lovers'. . .

Today for Easter Sunday dinner I made my version of a fancy cake called Lemon Lovers’ White Chocolate Cake. I don’t go to this much effort too often. The cake is one that a friend introduced to me while living in Illinois. It was fantastic. We then had it again for book group dessert. The book we were reading was “The Lemon Jelly Cake” (preview 20+ pages of the book here), a fun book I thoroughly enjoyed as I escaped back to the other turn of the century (1900). Although this is not a jelly cake you get a real ZING of lemon with the lemon curd filling in the middle! These pictures are of my cake today. It was simply missing the lemon zest which always makes things look fancier. I only had a lime and wasn’t so sure the combination would be as tasty.


If you would like the recipe check out this link.
http://www.wchstv.com/gmarecipes/lemonloverschocolatecake.shtml

HAPPY EASTER ALL!

When is too much candy a problem?

NOTE: This was actually written 5 days ago. It is taking me way to long to fit in some fun time for blogging or much Facebook but life is still good.

This morning was quite productive. I was focused, staying on tasks until completion rather than my regular routine of starting something only to noticed something else and then something else. . .until I finally make it back to the original task a few hours later. Well I should say I was focused until it came time to put away the dishes. I opened a cupboard that has been an eyesore for a while. As I started to pull out the bags that were shoved into various corners I was amazed at what I found. I found bags of leftover Halloween candy, Christmas candy and Valentines candy. Why was I considering purchasing some Easter candy with the coupons I clipped this morning? The existing bags of candy have obviously not been a draw for me and the kids have clearly forgotten about it, thank goodness. [ok so I forgot to move it off the kitchen table, from the photo shoot, before they got home so that is outdated - they were like "WHAT IS THIS!!!!!!!!]

I never remember having leftover candy as a kid other than the gross stuff and then you usually traded it with someone else. If I tossed it I’m sure I would have buried it and felt terribly guilty for being wasteful. So, I would LOVE to know what happens in other’s homes with holiday candy. Does it actually all get eaten up? Does it get thrown away? Donated to a class? I have tossed bags like this in previous years but I’m looking at this stash and thinking. . .I can’t toss this it’s wasteful. But I have no desire to have it around. ALL of us will be much better off not having it. There is TOO MUCH!!! What an absolute waste of money. If I had a dime for each piece of untouched candy I could pay for several individual Founding Memberships for the Mt Pleasant Discovery Museum.

So this is when candy becomes a problem, when it sits around for months untouched creating a waste. I need a candy recycler who will turn it into cash for me! Anyone?

Teacher Ornament

It seems there is always a dilemma at this time of year to find something to give to teachers. Since moving here the teachers at the school generally suggest that instead of bringing them something to donate to the Helping Hands program or pick something from a the Wish List for classroom supplies. That is all cool and we participate. A few years ago we started to do teacher ornaments that the kids help make. It is inexpensive and generally personalized so more meaningful than many other things that might just pile up. Anyway, I have failed the last year or two in my effort. I had almost given up the idea and thought this year, we will just do a card. But I cannot just take a card out of a box to give them. If we are going to do something it has to be from the boys. So the other night when I realized if I wanted the teachers to receive something it better be done that night as the weather was not looking good and potentially the last day before Christmas break would be the next day. With some luck on my first search attempt on the web and because I have a stash of paper and other things for crafting we had something in little time and Sam helped! Unfortunately Dan didn’t get to help as he was at Cub Scouts. Instead of a card we turned it into an ornament. Yeah, the ornament tradition continues! I must say it was very exciting to see how the teachers just loved it.

So if anyone wants a cute idea that is super easy to do. . . .Here are the pictures. We used Sam’s thumbprint. On the back of the ornament a personalized note was attached. It all worked and once again, a miracle last minute ornament came together!

Christmas Ornaments

UPDATE -- ORNAMENT WINNERS!! Yup, there was more than one winner. You will know if you were a winner if an ornament shows up at your house in the near future. :)

Years ago every Christmas season I tried to come up with some unique Christmas card greeting. I dreamed of making an ornament as well. But as I often do, I dream and don’t do. Then a couple years after we moved to Illinois I was invited by a friend to participate in an ornament exchange. There started my new tradition of making an ornament every year.

This ornament exchange was no simple exchange where you make 12 ornaments and get 12 ornaments. It was a production and a fun one! The ornaments were always thoughtfully made and often had some purpose or meaning behind the design. The ornament exchange was then celebrated at an afternoon getaway. I call it a getaway because the few hours spent at this soirée was a real treat and perfect way to truly feel the Christmas spirit even though it was simply at someone’s home. The first Saturday of December was the usual date and ALL things were set aside for these few hours. Upon arriving we would enjoy cranberry tea, visiting and lovely Christmas music. Everyone was assigned to either bring a salad or dessert. The buffet table of food was no ordinary pot-luck but a true holiday spread. We would play a few fun games and do a simple gift exchange. The culminating event was to go around and unveil our ornament. We would explain why we chose that ornament and any meaning it might have. The memories of our exchanges will always be with me every year at this time. After six years of this tradition life moved on and we moved to Michigan. I had thoughts all year of starting the tradition here in 2007. I even thought about it all year this year as well but. . . Here it is, December 2008 and I did not do it. This is not an event one could pull off last minute. It takes months of preparation so everyone has time to come up with and make their ornaments. Maybe 2009 will be my magic year to start the tradition here.

Each year as I pull out the Christmas decorations I fondly open my special boxes that hold the exchange ornaments. I think of the many friends who shared them and how we are now spread all over the country. I actually need a special tree to hang all of them (and I don’t have one yet). I still continued my personal tradition of making the ornament last year and shared them with family and a few friends. I had always made extras each year and sent them to family. This year I had a small ornament crisis. The idea I was so excited about was not working and time was ticking. In hopes of inspiration and a way to not ruin my fun tradition I went to Joann’s the other day. I was pleasantly surprised by an idea that came together with great speed. My ornaments are done and I’m quite happy with them. Hopefully next year I can make my other idea work.

To my family members who will be receiving one soon in the mail I guess you get a sneak preview. This year I am going to follow in the footsteps of my good friend Heidi who has been giving things away from her blog occasionally. I am going to give away at least one of my 2008 ornaments. To be entered into the drawing, just simply comment on this blog. I will select the name(s) for the drawing on December 15^th so that there is time to deliver or mail the ornament to arrive before Christmas. I would love to hear if you have any ornament traditions or if you have ever participated in an exchange. The more comments from different people I receive the more ornaments I will give away!

Not all of my ornaments are the fanciest but I have documented them from the years of this traditions beginning in 2001. Enjoy!

2001 - Christmas Goose, 2002 - Mini Christmas Caroling Book,

2003 - Old Time Sled, 2004 - Star & JOY blocks, 2005 - Christmas Lighthouse, 2006 - Cinnamon Stick and Bead Star

2007 - Small wooden present with thought

2008 - greetings from the middle of the "mitten" of Michigan

Halloween Highlights

Although I’m not a huge fan of Halloween, I do think its fun for the kids and makes some great memories. Highlights this year include the following, in no particular order.

The outdoor elementary school parade, complete with police escort. Cameras flashing, costumes flaring and tons of smiles. My vote for best costume was an elaborate homemade peacock outfit. However, I was partial to the cute fireman and the Harry Potter that live at our house.

The school Secretary was a very cute Mini Mouse and the Principal dressed as Mickey Mouse. He was a good sport to don that costume. Yet, we think it would have even been better had he lead the parade dressed like that on his Harley!

TOO much candy – more than I have ever seen for any Halloween I have experienced.

Traditional pumpkin carving, and turning one pumpkin into a black spider and then adding the fireman hat.

Halloween festivities at the church including a chili and cornbread cook off. My cornbread pan entry number was 13 and not unlucky as it took 3^rd place. Even Jiffy Mix can produce good results! You just have to know what else to add to it!

A memory I will not soon forget. After trick or treating around the tables for the church activity children rushed to the largest open space of floor real estate they could find (which just happened to be the highest traffic area if you were coming and going), dumped their load out and traded their candy. I have honestly never seen anything quite like it. It reminded me of a twisted Halloween version of “Pit” . “I have two kit-kats, two, two, two” “here I will trade for two twix” “DEAL”!

The traditional trick or treating, which is HUGE around here. We wandered a neighborhood of some friends. Although we live nowhere near this neighborhood we saw lots of people we know including Dan’s good friend in his school class. My favorite and most anticipated stop was the home with the therapy dogs. Baxter, Murphy and Boomer (I think its Boomer) are the most beautiful and well behaved dogs I have ever met. I have missed seeing them occasionally as I did last school year. One of their owners worked where Sam had preschool. The dogs were so great letting so many hands pet them and love on them.

Spending a little bit of down time with friends, after trick or treating, having some yummy cupcakes, watching pumpkin launching and smashing on the science channel.