Worms For Dinner

When I was a kid, I used to love that book How to Eat Fried Worms.  Maybe it was reading the book multiple times that ignited a little mischief in me the other night.  Pierce said, "Mom!  What's for dinner?" as I worked away at the stove.  "Worms," I casually responded.  Reid, listening in, said in a whiny 3 year old voice, "Mooooooooommm!  WORMS ARE YUCKY!"  And Pierce said, "Mom, we're not REALLY having worms, are we?"  To which I giddily lifted my bowl and said, "Sure we are, look!"

The boys examined this very closely.  When dinner rolled around, they were hesitant to try the spaghetti squash worms, lovingly tossed with parmesan, garlic salt, and a bit of butter.  But then soon enough my twin three year olds were happily declaring, "Mom!  Worms are YUMMY!  I like worms!"  As for me...well....I had to agree! 

Job Hunting in January

The other day I went for a job interview.  You should have seen me trying to stuff myself into one of my old suits that were purchased pre-kids.  Luckily, all of my suits were very classic, so they weren't out of style, and the jacket was roomy enough that you couldn't see the ugliness of the pants.

I need to find a part time job.  We just aren't cutting it financially right now, and I really don't want to have to dip into our meager savings, which are supposed to be going towards college for the boys.  Ideally, I'll find a job that I can do during the hours the twins are in preschool.  The job I interviewed for seemed very promising - flexible hours, 9-12 hours a week total, and I'd be providing mental health support to one person and helping her/him to make positive changes in life.  It would be fulfilling to me to put my degrees to use again.  Plus, I really liked the person who would be my boss, and the company as well.  There are some companies out there that provide this service and seem more concerned about making money than about the people they are supposed to be helping.  I want to make sure I stay away from places like that.

As part of the job application process, there is a lot of paperwork, including extensive background searching.  I had to go down to the jail for fingerprinting by the sheriff's office.  Pierce was out of school, so I brought him with me.  He charmed the sheriff's deputy that was fingerprinting me with all of his questions about jail.  She was so amused that she carried him to the back and lifted him up to the double paned glass window so that he could peek into the jail.  Now Pierce wants to be a sheriff's deputy when he grows up.

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Jobs that are just 10-12 hours a week with flexible work hours aren't too common, so I'm hopeful this one will pan out.  If not, there is another out there right now that could be another interesting prospect.  I might apply for that as well.  Wish me luck.  It seems like a lifetime since I was working, even though it's only been about a year and a half since I was teaching psychology classes part time.  It'll be nice to contribute to the community again, and to contribute to our finances as well! 

How to Store Legos

Pierce has been really into Legos since last summer (he even spent a week at Lego camp).  He's been fortunate to receive some nice sets from friends and family.  The most important thing about Legos is to keep the sets together and whole, and to save the instructions.  Because once you lose some key pieces, it just isn't very fun anymore.

You can buy these really neat Lego storage systems, but they are very expensive and certainly not in our budget.  So I came up with my own method for controlling the Lego madness.  The smaller sets work well in the $1 shoebox containers from Dollar Tree.  I cut up the Lego box and tape the picture of the set to the top.

And then I also tape a smaller picture to the side, since we stack the boxes in Pierce's closet.  This makes it very easy to find the set you need.

Some of the larger Lego sets do require larger tupperwares, but most of the sets we have are smaller sets that work well in the small tupperwares.  It's a system that has worked well for us so far.  How about you, readers?  Are you organizing any Legos in your house?

Learning to Decorate a Cake

I've wanted to take a cake decorating class for a while now, but resisted because...well....it just seemed so domestic.  But finally I decided to jump in and see how it went.  I really hated the first class and felt restless because all we really learned how to do was make the buttercream icing in different consistencies, fill a pastry bag with it, and make stars.  I was bored.  But something happened in the second class and I started to enjoy myself more.  The course ran for four classes, and I took pictures of my creations for the last three classes.  Keep in mind that I am very much a newbie and need more practice!

The first cake I made was a two layer white cake with my homemade wineberry jam between the layers.  I took it to my grandmother's house.  Everyone thought it was quite tasty.

The third class I made chocolate cupcakes with the buttercream frosting, filled with vanilla pudding.  I learned how to make little flowers, leaves, and the shaggy mum technique.

In the final class I did two layers of white cake with my homemade strawberry jam in between, a chocolate buttercream frosting, and a bunch of roses.

I stuck this cake straight in the deep freezer, as I am all junk-fooded out from the holidays.  It'll be a nice treat later this winter.  Classes were on sale last week for just $5 a piece, so I went ahead and signed up for the second level of cake decorating. 

How about you, readers?  Have you ever signed up for a class just for fun?

Breakfast is Easy with this Bran Muffin Recipe

My friend Shannon passed along this recipe to me some years ago, and I still think it's a great way to make an easy homemade breakfast.  The best part?  Mix up a batch and it lasts for FIVE WEEKS in your fridge (of course mine never stick around that long).  So you can make just a couple of muffins a morning if you'd like - having fresh muffins each day!  I've also found the recipe to be fairly flexible - I've substituted dried blueberries or apricots many times for the raisins, and I've used oat bran instead of wheat bran before.  Just be careful not to eat too many - you know what bran can do to you!

3 cups wheat bran
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups buttermilk (I just use milk mixed with lemon juice)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour

Pour boiling water over bran in a large bowl, stir to moisten evenly, then allow to cool for a moment.  Add eggs, molasses, milk, oil, and fruit.  Mix well.  Stir in soda, salt, sugar and flour.  Store in tightly covered container in fridge for up to 5 weeks.  *Allow to sit 24 hours before using for the first time*

To prepare, bake in muffin cups for 20-25 minutes at 400*. 

Readers, do you have any tips for making a homemade breakfast quickly and easily? 

Star Horses and Jabba in the Hutt

Up until recently, I've really only let my boys watch warm fuzzy kid shows.  About as edgy as we get is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original, of course!).  I'm all too familiar with the studies on television violence and kids.  But for some reason, the exception I am willing to make is Star Wars.  It's like a right of passage for little boys to love Star Wars.  Goodness knows I was subject to watching Return of the Jedi some 5 million times while my younger brothers happily repeated every line through their action figures. 

I don't care for the newer Star Wars, but we do have the three originals on dvd.  The other day I broke down and let the twins watch one of them with Pierce.  And ever since, all I've heard about from Reid is, "I want to watch Star Horses and Jabba in the Hutt!"  I think he liked it a little too much, especially for a three year old.  So I haven't allowed him to watch it again since then, but I think I'm in trouble.

We have two Star Wars toys of my brothers' that somehow ended up at our house.  Pretty sure I'll need to return them once their own kids get into Star Wars, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for more action figures.  Sadly, it seems no one ever wants to part with their Star Wars goodies, because I never seem to see them in thrift stores or at yard sales.  In the meantime, I'm pulling out my hair  enjoying the great many fights the boys are having over sharing Jabba in the Hutt. 

How about you, reader?  Are you a Star Wars fan?  Which one is your favorite?

Fitness Recap December and 2012

Happy 2013 folks!  This is a really special New Year for me.  Because today marks 10 years since I made the New Years resolution to stop smoking.  I haven't touched one since.  But oddly, I frequently still smoke in my dreams when I am asleep.  This always upsets me - I often dream that I have forgotten that I stopped smoking and have taken it back up without realizing it.  This is certainly NOT in my plans, and I am proof that resolutions can stick when you set your mind to them.  Of course, in conjunction with the 10 year anniversary of stopping smoking, it is also the 10 year anniversary of starting running.  Which has played such an important part in my life for the past 10 years.  I've run on mountains, on beaches, on pavement and trails, in other states and even on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.  The only times I have stopped running have been for a knee surgery, for injuries, and at the tail end of both of my pregnancies.  Today I'm looking forward to starting my next decade of running! 

Just for fun, I went back and totaled up the past ten years.  I ran 9,176 miles total.  My highest mileage year was in 2007 when I ran 3 marathons and finished the year in 1264 miles.  My lowest mileage was in 2006 when I was pregnant with Pierce and preeclampsia kept me from running in the latter half of the pregnancy - I only got in 389 miles. 

As for this December, my IT band injury has slowly continued to improve.  I'm not pushing it too hard.  I've mostly stuck to 3 and 4 mile runs.  I've had to do a lot more running on the treadmill this past month than I like, due to the boys being on winter break.  I'm hoping to get outside more in January.

Shred 1 or 2: x 8
Running miles:  63
Yoga: x 4

Next month should be similar, with hopefully a slight increase in mileage.  And while I did make it to the track once in December (see the picture below for proof - the boys had fun playing on the playground while I ran in circles around them), I am hoping to do so again in January.

My overall year end mileage for 2012 is 1170.  I'm happy with this, particularly considering the injury that has held me back the past couple of months.  I met most of my 2012 goals: I PR'd in the half marathon, and I completed marathon #9.  The only goal I didn't meet was staying injury free.  Also for 2012 I lifted weights 44 times, did yoga 24 times, ab workouts 22 times, and Shred 17 times.

Now for 2013 - I am not actually setting any racing goals this year.  It's just too hard to do coming into the year with an injury.  So really my only goal is to get stronger, and to heal my IT band, and to just enjoy my running.

How about you, readers?  Got any goals for 2013?