Would I Make it Again? Apple Fritter Muffins
When I was a little girl, my Uncle Donny owned a doughnut shop. I can still remember the sweet smell of the shop, the flour smudges on my uncle’s all white uniform and, of course, the sweet treats. Looking back, I’m sure it was anything but glamorous to be up in the wee hours of the morning making bear claws, maple bars and apple fritters. But, oh, the deliciousness! Fast forward let’s not talk about how long to a couple of weeks ago when my landlord gifted me a bag of apples from the tree in her backyard. Tart green apples that were perfect for baking. That’s my kind of…
Board Games Even I Enjoy
I’m not sure what you guys lie in bed at night watching. Game of Thrones? Friends reruns? Stranger Things? The 10 O’Clock News? This Is Us? Do you want to know what I fall asleep listening to Handy Husband watches? YouTube videos of people playing board games. Try not to be jealous of my life. This is akin to my kids watching YouTube videos of people playing Minecraft instead of just playing Minecraft themselves. I’m giving you this window into my very glamorous life to illustrate an important point. When Handy Husband takes on a hobby, you can be guaranteed that he will take that hobby on 110%. There’s no…
What I’m Thankful For Ain’t On No List
First of all, apologies to my Grandma Olsson for using the word ain’t in the title of this post. I’m fairly certain if she could reprimand me from heaven she would! That was NOT a word we were allowed to use as grandchildren of a teacher. I think it was right up there with naughty words or ‘barnyard talk’ as she called it. Maybe worse! Since she was the sweetest grandma to walk the planet (I’m not biased or anything), I think she would forgive me just this once because I’m merely quoting a song written by Trisha Yearwood. Yes, I’m trying to get off on a technicality. The first…
Happy List: #48
Hurray! You survived another week! On Monday I shared another round of what my kids are reading. I’m really glad my kids still enjoy me reading out loud to them. It’s not a season that will last forever, so I’m soaking it up now. I also shared another round of Would I Make It Again? This time it was a recipe for Korean Beef and adding it into the dinner rotation was a no brainer! Here are a few things that made me smile or feel inspired this week. SWEETEST CHRISTMAS TRADITION Guys. I might be feeling sentimental, but I just read about THE SWEETEST Christmas tradition for daughters. Sorry,…
Would I Make It Again? – Korean Beef Bowl
Sometimes I ask my kids what they want for dinner when I’m not sure what to cook. I don’t know why I ask these things! Their answers are always predictable and not something that counts as “well balanced for a Tuesday night when I’m still making an effort with this dinner thing.” By Thursday Friday night all bets are off though. When I don’t know what to cook, I cook tacos fall back on my staple of go-to recipes. Spoiler Alert! This Korean Beef Bowl recipe by Damn Delicious has become one of my go-to recipes. I’m probably making it twice a month now. (image: Damn Delicious) Now, I’m a…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 6
Books, books and more books! Welcome back to what has become an on-going series sharing the children’s books my kids and I are reading. Before I get to the list of books we’ve enjoyed recently, I want to show you a neat booklet our local Irish library system publishes. It is a reading guide for different age groups from toddlers up to young adults. It includes both fiction and non-fiction recommendations. The library must have a fairly robust budget to produce this booklet and I have no complaints about that! The reading guide is compiled by a group of ‘book doctors’ who are all children’s book specialists. They have backgrounds…
Happy List: #47
It’s starting – just starting – to feel like winter where I live and basically my response is NOOOOO! But enough about my issues. This week I shared a glimpse into my married life a recipe for Rhubarb Scones. That sentence makes no sense unless you read the post about Rhubarb Scones. Also, all the rhubarb lovers came out of the woodwork. There are so many of you! Who knew? I also shared another story from the train. Several months ago I shared this one, which was pretty deep because we talked about my least favorite 4-letter word – hate. This time the conversation was all about superpowers. Kids have a…
Kid Wisdom: Everyday Superpowers
Here’s some kid wisdom on everyday superpowers. Picture it. The kids and I are on a packed commuter train at 8:27 a.m. We’re standing, of course, because it’s a Monday morning and everyone has to get to work on time on a Monday. By Friday they won’t care as much and the train will be less crowded. I’m wearing my son’s backpack because 2nd grade homework is HEAVY and holding my own backpack with my left hand. With my right hand I’m holding onto one of the vertical bars to keep my balance as the train stops and starts. The kids are clustered next to me attempting whatever movement they…
Would I Make It Again? – Rhubarb Scones
I cook most everyday because it’s socially unacceptable to let my kids eat cereal for every meal the people in my family are always hungry. Okay, fine. I’m always hungry too. The kids definitely take after me in this regard. Sometimes I try a new recipe and think, “This would be fun to share with my blog friends.” I might even snap a picture of it, but then I never go on to share it because I only cooked or baked it once. I didn’t test the recipe. I didn’t make it uniquely mine. I didn’t do any of the things actual food blogs do to make sure a recipe is…
Happy List: #46
Another Halloween is in the books and we are racing toward the end of the year! The days can seem long, but the years short. Why is that? Anyway, this week I spread the word that Talking Statues have arrived in Dublin. I also shared a hard-to-write, personal account of why I sent my kids to Catholic mass. Basically, I got up on my soapbox. So let’s follow that up with some not-so-deep stuff. Here’s this week’s Happy List. WORLD’S BEST MUSEUMS My grandma was the first person to take me to a museum. We went to a lot of museums and I’m sure I did not appreciate them as…
