I am a history fan.
But, the main reason this little image caught my attention is actually because I’m a fan of literature. A fan of knowledge. Of books in general, of any sort, shape, subject, or size.
The thought of spending days (weeks, years) browsing and absorbing and immersing within the parchment fabled to exist there… well, that’s about as close as I get to a “dream come true.”
Sigh…
(source)
So there was store bought apple pie at my house. I love apple pie. But I wanted to spruce it up a little bit, and ice cream alone just wasn’t going to cut it.
I’d been eating a lot of honey lately, to help soothe my much abused throat which has been enduring endless coughing. I hate being sick. But I love honey. So, what else could I add it to … well, why not pie??
I was NOT disappointed.
And, it was a super simple dessert to put together.
I took a slice of apple pie, cut it in half and put it in a bowl. Microwaved the bowl. Scooped some vanilla ice cream on top. Then came the real awesomeness: a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar.
I just squeezed the honey over the ice cream and pie, and then shook my pre-made cinnamon and sugar mixture over the top of it all. The mix is about 4 parts white sugar and 1 part cinnamon. I don’t measure it. Just mix (or shake) until it’s the color I want. But you can also buy cinnamon sugar at the store, if you prefer.
Either way, sweet, spicy, juicy deliciousness.
WARNING! I am about to share with you a video of something very, very dangerous:
A Magic Chocolate Lava Cake.
I actually found this video by way of some gifs that reached into my chest and stole my breath straight from my lungs. Some people would call this a gasp, but it’s really more of a gasm.
An ooey, gooey, luscious, shivering foodgasm, that is.
You can watch the the chocolate miracle being made right before your eyes:
And you can find the recipe at How To Cook That.
I now have the desire to throw a party for the sole purpose of serving this dessert.
Brave has been on my mind a lot lately.
And not just because Sara Bareilles performed it live on The Voice last week – although that helps.
I can relate to this song so deeply. That comes across as a little trite, but it’s true. The lyrics really spoke to me the first time I listened to them. This dragging, damaging divorce has been draining me dry, and I realized that one of the biggest reasons I’m so exhausted, is because I am SO TIRED of explaining and explaining and explaining all of the things that I’d kept so silent and hidden for so many years.
I know it’s time to be brave. That can be hard, though. Especially when my lawyer tells me not to post anything at all on social media, and I find myself sitting there, signed into Facebook, and chanting in my head, “Don’t vent on Facebook. Don’t vent on Facebook. Don’t vent on Facebook. Don’t vent on Facebook. Don’t vent on Facebook…”
And the video itself?
I thought it was awesome the first time I saw it. After all, before I’d even seen the video, I was the one walking around Kmart, listening to the song play over the speakers while singing along and dancing as I walked down the aisles.
Hell – I am the video!
And I love the spirit in the video. The genuine passion in the dancers. Even the dude a little lacking in rhythm – there is a loveliness to it. An excitement.
A happiness.
Because life is beautiful. So be brave. Dance.
Dance on top of all the shit and show the world that it won’t hold you down.
Just like the old ladies that join the dancing. They say wisdom comes with age, and it’s the eldest of the impromptu audiences that really get into it. They know how to dance. How to brush off the world and everything and just dance.
That’s how I want to be. Like this awesome lady:
I love the fall.
And now that it’s November, fall seems to have finally reached Florida. (Most days.)
So we’re spending a lot more time outdoors, which is a great boon to my outdoorsy kids.
As I’ve mentioned previously, in Dirt Soup: In Contact With Creation, my girls love digging in the dirt and mixing various things with water, all while explaining, in great detail, the flavors of their soup-like creations.
Today was a nice day. It called for soup.
And, above, you see a quick snapshot of my daughter in her fort (spaceship), next to her soupy creation and some gigantic rocks from the garden that were gifts we were bringing home from China.
Which is also why, incidentally, I usually let her tell me what we’re doing. Her imagination astounds me. Reminds me of how boring adults can be.
Some days it’s just too cold and windy and blustery to play outside.
But we needed something to keep busy, and we’d already blown up the small pool the night before when we didn’t realize the sun wouldn’t be showing it’s face today.
So: water play.
We moved the pool indoors to the dining room. I filled two large plastic bowls with water, and placed them inside the pool. Then collected as many measuring cups and spoons and general gadgets (whisks, funnels, mesh strainers) as I could find, and tossed them in the pool, too.
Then, I let the girls have at it.
It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
I had to refill the large bowls a couple of times since most of the water ended up in the bottom of the pool anyway, but that’s the reason I had them wear swimsuits.
I kept towels nearby to clean up spills that splashed onto the dining room floor and also to wrap them in when they’d had enough. But they spent so much time measuring and scooping and experimenting with the water to make setting it all up more than worthwhile. We’ll be doing this again.
This activity can also easily be done in the bathtub if you don’t have a little, blow-up or plastic pool. Or, if it’s a nice day outside, them you can just provide the bowls and tools spread out across the grass or a patio.
Either way, a fun yet educational (and basically free) way to keep your little ones entertained!
Wha???
Doughnuts shaped like a kitten? A panda!
*Gasp*
Must. Fly. To. Tokyo. Right. NOW!
I can taste their sugary goodness just from looking at this picture. The thrifty side of my brain tells me that I could make these if I just put a little effort and creativity into baking some doughnuts myself… and the I-need-sugar-cuteness-now side of my brain says, “quick – go bake some box brownies and cover them in a sugar icing and sprinkles before your brain’s taste buds explode!”
Well – that’s it. I’m off to raid the kitchen…
(source)
This is another one of those activities that just kind of happened on its own.
My kids were coloring on the kitchen floor, and, for whatever reason, my daughter decided to go into the pantry and take out the bundt pan. Then both of my girls started filling the hole in the center with crayons.
I realized this was good for developing their fine motor skills (and keeping them busy while I was otherwise engaged in the kitchen), so I encouraged it.
They would insert the crayons into the hole, and once it was full, I’d show them they could pick it up, move the crayons, and start again.
You could use just about any small or skinny object for this: pipe cleaners (maybe cut shorter), pom poms, small toys or balls. Heck, you could even pretend it’s a volcano, and use small dinosaur toys. Let your kids get creative and pick what they want to use. Or compile a bunch of small toys and let them experiment to discover what will fit.
This November, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and Autumn, one of the projects we did was to make these Turkey Treasure Buckets.
My girls LOVE being outside.
They’d sleep out there if I let them.
Anyway, I wanted a project that would involve nature. So we made some turkey buckets to collect autumn leaves.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a ton of beautiful, colored leaves where we live in Florida. Our backyard pretty much has a bunch of brown Live Oak leaves. And some sticks, and some mulch, and some grass…
So, nature: yes. Beautiful fall colors: not so much.
I feel bad, too, because we we just in Georgia a couple of weeks ago and we collected a ton of fantastically bright fallen leaves. But I didn’t think to bring any home with us.
So, we improvised. Used what we had.
And the kids had a blast.
We started with some copper-colored mini buckets from the bargain section of Target and a handful of clothespins.
We painted the clothespins with a variety of colors and sprinkled sequins over the wet paint to represent the turkey’s feathers. It was messy, but fun. My girls love painting.
And we only did one side. You could do both if you prefer.
I cut a quick face out of construction paper while they were painting, and they helped me glue on the eyes, beaks, and waddel. Then I hot glued the faces to the buckets. This was a sure way to keep them securely attached, but with an easy way to remove them later to reuse the buckets for another project.
Then, they clipped on the clothespin “feathers.”
Voila!
Here’s a picture of my baby searching the backyard for treasures.
The clothes pins are a little heavy, but my girls wanted as many as possible. You could always use less if the weight is problem for you.
And here’s one of the buckets, filled with leaves and sticks.
They had so much fun with this. And they played with the buckets over and over, filling them with all kinds of treasures, including tiny toys.
And I had a blast watching them and helping them seek out fun discoveries in the backyard. It’s so great to spend some outdoors with my girls. I’m sooooooo happy that the coolness of fall is finally showing its face in Florida!
These are a fun way to change up your traditional lunch menus.
I originally found the idea on Pinterest, but now the pin doesn’t lead anywhere, and there are examples of this recipe all over the internet, so I’m not really sure who created it.
Anyway, it’s a simple concept: put a slice of cheese on a slice of bread, roll it up, fry with butter.
Of course, if you roll the bread a little flatter and larger with a rolling pin, it makes it a little easier, but I didn’t feel like it. Works without it, too. Besides, finger food in general is pretty popular with my girls, whether or not it’s as picture perfect as my inspiration. :)
So, here is a collage of the making-the-gooey-grilled-cheese-rolls process:
Enjoy!
And let me know if you try any fun variations!
Roaming Rosie 