Black raspberry pumpkin ice cream aka wassail ice cream pie

So last night I had my friend over to chat about life and visit teach. I decided to make pumpkin ice cream pie with my vitamix. Totally forgetting that I didn't have a lot of ice, so used black raspberries frozen instead. The raspberries and gingerbread cookie crust bought a wassail flavor to the ice cream pie which was delicious. It was a great seasonal treat!

Iron Chef potluck

So a couple foodie friends came together and we had an Iron Chef Potluck party. This first time the secret ingredient was Peppers, we had so many great dishes it was hard to vote for just one. Our rules are you can make as many dishes as you like, you can only pick one to be voted on.

Our champ is E, who made an amazing slow-burn pepper soup. Other dishes were Pepper steak sandwich, Habanero stuffed mushrooms, Phillipo Pepper spring rolls, Chili Chocolate Cake, Jalapeno Pepper-Limeade, Cream of Jalapeno, Roast Sweet Pepper Muffins and Jalapeno Poppers. It was all delicious food! It was a great night of fun with friends which we will repeat again soon.

Abraham Lincoln slays the zombies

Yes, in my celebration of Halloween I indulged in the writings of Seth Grahame Smith with both Abraham Lincoln vampire hunter, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies( the graphic novel). They were both brilliant I was allured to Abraham Lincoln because Smith wrote in a style like David Mccullough which I love his books particularly 1776. Smith took the more traditional approach to vampires then what the Twilight series and Ann Rice have written of which I really liked it. It was funny with vampires and accurate with history of Abraham Lincoln. It is worth reading if you want a good laugh.

Pride and Prejudice in the graphic novel was a comical read and a new twist on an old classic, which I love dearly. I've watched all the verses of the movies from the 1930's black and white one, A&E, Kara Knightly starred in snooze fest, to Bride and Prejudice, and even the Mormon version cheesy film. I do love the idea of zombie slayers in merry old England. It's a fresh perspective on Jane Austen. I read the animated version so it was not painfully annoying.

Victorian Molly Brown Halloween

So, Mr. Incredible and I did one of our weekly dates at the Molly Brown house has an awesome event for Halloween. You get to go through the house and have actors represent dead authors and read their creepy story's like Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow and Edgar Allan Poe's The cask of Amontillada to name a few. It was fabulous the actors were amazing and stayed in character the entire time and you got to see all of Molly Brown's house. Next year, I will have to get a Victorian hat that is creeped out for Halloween.

Root Beer Milk

Root Beer Milk is divine stuff that is sold at Whole Foods but not everywhere. I found a recipe that combined good quality Root Beer with creamer milk. 1 part to 1 part. It's so yummy!

September memories

Our gardened flourished with butternut squash, zucchini, gourds, potatoes, Kale and peppers! Glad we got something it was a short harvest because of the snow! We used our newly bought tent up at Rock Mountain National Park camping with a group of our friends. It was awesome my bbf D had a mansion of a tent that had a welcoming mat and mail drop box zipper. Mr. Incredible's friend Mega Mind could not shoot, so they went rock climbing and repealing with all the girls. To top it off we had blue bell at estes park. It was a fabulous time which must be repeated!

Found out apparently my super human body can crack titanium, at least that is what the doctors say is going on with my rods. Who knows how long it has been cracked for years or it may have been a recall that they didn't tell me about.

I had a Swap Style party at my house it was small in numbers but fun. We scored on the clothes. I will have to do it again later! I got those clothing racks and a couple of mirrors so it felt more like shopping and not a pile of clothes that was not sorted.

It was Mr. Incredible's birthday bash and we had so much fun with his friends and I bought cupcakes because our oven is still not working and topped them with star wars characters the dark side. Because he entered the dark side with his age.

Peanut is a funny disastrous child that loves cars, movies and candy! Though he does not watch alot of movies or gets a lot of candy! I was impressed when we went to see the Jelly Belly tour bus at the candy shop...perfectly behaved! Loved it! Me popping candy into his hand probably reflected the behavior, which it worked even in the monkey harness and not the stroller.

Looking back at August

Time flies by so fast! Mr. Incredible did a wag and run 5k which raised funds for the humane society. He got first in his age division. Peanut was in heaven with all the doggies and he almost jumped into the doggie pool and he climbed into the empty cages at the doggie adoption tent. We had alot of fun going to the museums with the blue star program, which makes it so military families get in free. It was a blast!

Sweet July highlights

My bff B came down for a visit it was awesome! We went all over Colorado it was so much fun to see her. I was inspired by B after her visit to get myself a grandy bike and ride at least 70 miles of the Colorado trails. Things I would say to do in Colorado because we did and enjoyed them:

Cog rail at least once

hiking Mt Evans

Baujo's Pizza is classic

Platte River trail

After B left we moved, down the street. Pretty fun... we now have a garage! My big sista and niece Thunderstar came down from Vegas to visit. We had an amazing time with them didn't hike at all like with B.

Awesome things we did:

Banjo Bill's Bus Ride

Smash Burger

Phoenix gold mine

Drive Mt Evan's in a cloud quote from Thunderstar "there's no service in heaven"

Dye hair wild colors with manic panic while watching Mr Bean's Holiday

Tiny Town

DAM

Waterworld with King of the Cabana (oh yeah)

Molly Brown's House

Mt Rushmore again the black hills have not changed

Almost got hit by a herd of Buffalo

Hammond's Candy Factory behind the scenes tour, we got to make lollipops and candycanes while looking like caferteria ladies in hair nets. The workers laughed at my cobra shaped lollipops.

All in all hanging with B, big sista, and thunderstar was awesome! We wish they lived closer. But B we will see you in Pangea, Papua New Guinea, Phillipines or Paris. We are headed to Paris next year so join us. Got to freshen up my French first though.

Garage Sale REI style

So, we went to REI for their garage sale... it was awesome... if you to take the time and see if a used $399 Base Camp 6 tent has all the pieces and functions well. Mr. Incredible was behind the store setting it up and checking in 97 degree weather, while Peanut ran around and I chased after him. Mr. Incredible clearly knew what he was doing and people thought he was a worker and were asking him if that tent was taken. After all that work, we definitely were taking it. So excited to camp!

And the winner is...

Me! I won a daily tea tee shirt from a local business. Love that store its the second time this year. Peanut has a great wardrobe, from them. I get a thrill out of it. Mr. Incredible picked out the tee-shirt this time!

Gasoline and milk shoppe

Normally filling up your tank does not include getting milk at the same time. Yesterday it did. I have been told that there is a local milk shoppe but thought it would be embarrassing to ask my friend exactly where... after she had told me a while ago. I was to afraid that I would say the wrong words like gased milk( or leche con gas). Dumb... I know.

So we had made a meal for our friend that just recently had a baby, and were coming home. Mr. Incredible saw the milk shoppe off the road, we stopped got our gas and went in for milk. They carry Crest Farmers the kind that is at Sunflower Market and Royal Crest the delivery milk. Which in my option has the best chocolate milk ever and I thought you could only get through a door delivery. I was surprisingly wrong.

...Still going on the fabric flower kick

So, I saw a way cute DIY on headbands with flowers and I bought the wrong nylon instead of using the obvious chiffon I got tulle. This project I want to make flowers on a tutu. So here are the resources I found that were hot with tulle and flowers.
The wedding project amazing and the little birdie secrets are cool but not as cool as the wedding projects but has awesome technique. With the aid of my pyro man, tulle went flame at least trying to curl the edges. Tulle melts in fire like all nylon which I knew but forget while getting the fabric, so it's a delicate balance. ... So, I'm off to melt tulle!

Lame Felt Flowers

I'm on a flower kick. So I made flowers out of felt, seeing that I had felt laying around. I hate using felt for stuff ( I only discovered that when I made them)... at least the cheap kind. So I cut different sizes of flowers (some were lop-sided), put them together and sewed them together using a button. Probably will make a homemade ugly doll out of them, it is a disaster in the making...I'll keep you posted.

Father + Son Campout

Peanut and Mr. Incredible happily went on a father son camp out this weekend leaving mommy to watch chick flicks on her own. The line up was Sabrina(1956), Grease, Sweet Home Alabama, Penelope, and regrettably Valentine's Day. It was so great to watch, clean and sew, while the boys were gone.

They came home dirty and happy. Peanut had fallen a few times so had a big scar on his upper lip. He loved his little camping chair and Daddy brought his pack and play. Which he enjoyed and took a nap in while Daddy went shooting with the other guys. I would have never guessed that grunting young Peanut would love the great outdoors so much, but he did. Just like his Dad.

Newspaper Gift Bag Epic Failure + Fabric Flowers

So, for our cooking and craft day we decided to make gift bags and Thai noodles. The Thai noodles were good. ...The gift bags on the other hand were confusing instructions and a pain in the butt. The ones that I tried to make at home looked like popcorn bags that had the Biden Laden 500 feet title from the onion standing tall humorous as ever, and not a all functional for a gift bag. Last night, in a weird search for good fabric flowers I found the DIY for making your own, only for decor really-- they will be destroyed by the wash. I made some and they are more shabby then chic but for a little girls headgear it works. It was annoying to wait for the starch to dry, I learned with scraps of fabric cotton is the best fabric to work with. Here is how you make them:

1. starch fabric (I've noticed that cotton works the best)

2. cut out flowers in different sizes

3. Bind flowers together in the order you desire

4. Top flower off with an embellishment.

5. Add them to a clip or headband, or card.

6. If you want to add a bit of texture iron then and curl them with moving the fabric the way you want when it is still warm from ironing.

Wanting to give back

So, I have been trying to figure out ways to give back to my community inspired by my church leaders call so I found these organizations that I thought of doing day events for. If you can think of any others tell me, please. In the past I've donated to Project Linas and organized book drives for The Heart of America Foundation.


Family First CO


TLC meals on wheels


Reach out and read CO

Speaking Nut and Apple Cider Donuts

So, Peanut started speaking in complete sentences yesterday saying "I want more." When he finished his dinner and added in the personal touch of throwing the plate at Daddy. It was amazingly funny! Never grows old.

Sunday we ventured to make apple cider donuts with Big B's apple cider. It was amazing when they were warm but when they cooled down tasted like the mass produced old donuts with a pretzel dough kick. It took along time, so when they were done it was night. My friends who I wanted to share with were asleep. It was kinda sad. Next time we need to make them for a breakfast party.

Bucklist:Colorado

I've done alot up here, but there is so much more to do. But still there are so many things to do.
1. Llama Run/Walk- doing it this year, I just got to get a llama
2. Lollipop Park looks better then lakeside and fun. I like Santa's workshop though even though Mr. Incredible says "its where amusement park rides go to retire."
3.Mesa Verde- cliffs love the look
4. Breckenridge sculpture fest
5. Banjo Billy bus ride-looks amazingly fun
6. Celestial Seasoning tour
7. Boulder Ice Cream Tour
8. Denver Botanic Gardens- I've been meaning to for a long time.
9. Cherry Blossom Feast-Loved the DC one
10. Root Down- Looks yummy and local
11. Denver Cupcakes-- yes it's sells out of the truck like the ice cream man as a child.
12. Estes Park
13. Dunes
14. Frozen Dead Guy Days
15. Fruit Cake Toss
16. Cherry Creek Gondola
17. Molly Brown House Christmas Victoria House
18. US Mint
19. Watching Wizard of OZ on the green in downtown Denver. Like screen on the green in DC's Mall.
20. Oatmeal Fest
I can't write all the hikes that I want to go on and the rafting.

Kale Soup

So one of my friends and I were talking about starting an IronChef Denver food group that meets once a month. We were talking about our love of Kale and she mentioned that Olive Garden had one called Zuppa Toscana I found a recipe and made it while Mr. Increditble was off on duty. It was funny how I had to learn from my big sista that pork has a ton of grease and the longer you cook it the more grease comes out in soup (which is gross) so I had to spoon it all out. It was lot of work! But it was yummy and Mr. Increditble loved having it for lunches.

Hammonds Garage Sale + Parties Galore

Hammond's garage sales, it's my annual summer thing like black Friday. I do get there quite early. Friday their signage on the outside was confusing and I talked to three workers who had no clue that the sale was at or going on. It left me with bad taste in my mouth it was way too early. I went back on Saturday it was amazing as usual though prices went up inflation is a killer sometimes. I decided to do two things: make a candy bouquet for my friend moving to CA, and make Peanut's party about candy land or all things Denver. So I got lollipops galore at a cheap price and made the candy bouquet up top. Mr. Incredible and I had a sweet date at the candy store.

Birthday Party and Good-bye Party, sweet and bitter flavors, it was good and sad. The Asian food was awesome! Even though we missed the wild block party downtown we still heard the banging of the fireworks which the city funds its better then the fourth of July fireworks. It is amazing!

Toothy Madness

Our little Peanut, loves to play after he wakes up. His crib is located next to and out of reach of the bookshelf so we thought. Until apparently one day he grabbed a bunch of books. He told us with the book title his emotions and with chunk he took off the book on the left side. Brilliant Nut!

Memorial Day

I totally did not write a post on our ventures. Most importantly I want to say thanks to all the military men and women who serve our country. We had so much fun with our friend Mrs. Lovebird and little B at her neighborhood breakfast. Her neighborhood is awesome, I want to live there they are so friendly it reminds me of Stars Hollow but its real. Memorial day is about decorating graves but we did not have any of our dearly departed here. So we went to Tiny town, rode the train and played. Tiny town is a place where there are tons of dollhouses, some you can go in, the train is coal run. It is a great place to bring kids for the afternoon. Mrs. Lovebird and little B flew back home on saturday. We miss them!

Pirates & Chalk Art Festival

Date night we saw the latest pirates movie. The hybrid vampired mermaids kinda freaked me out I foresee many girls dressing up as mermaid fanged for Halloween. The movie was great! I discovered at the theater has booster seats. Yes, for the short ones viewing pleasure. I was happy they thought of it. Not that Peanut would ever sit that long now.

Mr. Incredible was away on duty Saturday. So we went to the Chalk Art Festival with our friends H+P and Penelope. It was way fun and one day want to participate in it. Hilerious highlight of the day was Peanut spilled pinapple smoothie all over his lap and trunk. Even after being changed he smelled fruity all the rest of the day long. Thanks H for taking us to the festival it was awesome!

Chalupas

So keeping with our cooking and craft theme being mexican food we made chalupas. Love those little appetizers with pico de gallo sprinkled on top. I would have never guessed it was about frying corn flour shells that were pinched? I was under the impression that they were as large as taco bell made them, I was pleasantly surpised. It was amazingly yummy! Here is what we used for the batter for the shells 2 cups corn flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour, and 2 cups water. Mix together and create shells by pinching corners then fry. Add refried beans, lettuce, queso ranchero, pico de gallo, plus any other thing you want and eat. Thanks L for teaching me how to cook like a good mexican wife.

88 drive in

Peanut is a runner so will not sit still at the theater and watch it without him adventuring around. So, we found out there is a drive in theater at commerce city. I was excited to have more fond memories like I did when I was a child. Though not all places have the weather for drive in theaters. Well, I looked up the theater reviews they were not so good on the snack bar or restrooms and customer service. When we went this week the customer service was good. Peanut loved the alien glow in the dark pop we got for him. Mr Incredible told me the snack bar was stinky, the box which the candy came in stunk up the car. But it was amazing to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 and Thor for $8 per person. I did not want to try out the restrooms, but if you want to be stuck in your car for two movies it is great!

Art fest and Gin Blossoms

I watched all the movies in my house while I was sick. It was just gross doing nothing but hoping to get better! But we survived... Last friday, we went with our great friends L+P to the art festival. I was amazed by the many medias they used, it was an awesome to talk about what styles all of us liked. One of the unusual medias were butterflies they looked like the ones we saw in Costa Rica. It made me sad too!
Saturday we gardened as usual went to a grad party then off the Gin Blossoms concert at Day of Rock with D and C. It was amazing! I remembered all there big hits from the 90's. D and I were dancing and singing them all. Who wears a huge sombrero to a rock concert? The guy in front of us which blinded out view. Despite the sombrero, it was amazing!

U2

Two years of waiting for the concert, finally it was here! I loved every second of it. The Fray opened it for it, their lead singer looked like Lex Luthor to me. Though we hoped for warm weather it was windy and cold. Mr. Incredible had to buy an overpriced sweatshirt because he was cold. I thought taking the light rail was going to take too long, so we drove a huge mistake that cost me $30 for parking. That is probably why all the people in the parking were tailgating and there were alot of RV campers getting their money worth in parking all day. I realized during the concert Bono is as old as my mother and even after back surgery he jumping and running. I was amazed by him! I was amazed at the security at invesco field they worked tirelessly to find all the people smoking illegally and found them.

Millinery

So I've been MIA for a while, having no time to write. Millinery is hat making, yes I've tried it at first in celebration of the wedding and I had a ton of starch left over from other projects. I looked up on a you tube video and got inspired. I started off with thinking of the shape that I wanted, I used a glass candy jar cap for this one, put the fabric on it then starched it and left it to dry. Then attached it to the headband and stitched on by hand the nylon, which I learned quickly is why you need a thimble. So the other one is gray and red with white flowers. I got a fur shug to add to the look. Now, I just need to go to tea with my friends.

Surpise Mother's Day Party

So Mr. Incredible, called me on thursday night when Peanut and I had just gotten back from Seattle and informed us that he would have most of Mother's Day off. It was awesome to hear that. So friday I was cancelling our plans for the weekend in Denver to go to Colorado Springs to be with Mr. Incredible. Where he gave me a dozen red roses! We decided when we picked him up at a coffee shop to head to Manitou Springs we saw the shacks of hotels that lined the streets to downtown we were not impressed to stay at places that looked ghetto or looked like Woodstock was coming back. So we found the most pretty inn nestled near the main drag, it was called the Cliff House at Pikes Peak, it has gorgeous rooms and amazing views. We loved it

Then the next day, off the the Cheyenne zoo where Peanut looked like Indiana Jones and with the safari buggy he jumped on and off loving every minute of it.

Get your frock on

So it's a belated celebration to Jelly Bean day and an early celebration of the royal nuptials. No, it's not the jelly bean that is worth 100K + because it looks like Kate M. These are Jelly Bellys... the best tasting jelly beans out there and are made in the USA. The art piece by John Lewis is fabulous with the different shades of color. You gotta love that you can buy belly flops and all the amazing flavor.

Dear Jelly Belly,

Please bring back your blue mint to market, because I have missed it and your peppermint pink is not cutting it.

Thanks,

A devoted customer

Well, Kate and Will I will toast a cup of herbal tea and eat an English scone with french creme in your honor on friday. I just hope you have a more blissful marriage then Charles and Di. I love your eco-friendly cottage.

Thai Night

Pad ki mow is what I made and we ate for dinner last night. Pad ki mow is spicy pork noodles with lime leaves, instead of pork I used bison (because I had it not very Thai to use bison, I know) it was so yummy. I was amazed at the taste and it was all cooked in 10 minutes. Mr. Incredible liked it as well, though different tasting then Indian and Filippo dishes. I've had Keffir lime leaves around the kitchen from Savory Spice Shop so it was an easy meal to make. It was topped off with a cherry banana smoothie.

Nan-traditional Easter

So yesterday for Easter we skipped out on the traditional ham and made vindaloo and Nan bread. It was so yummy with a berry sorbet! I love the holiday season of celebrating the birth of the savior with eggs and bunnies. I absolutely love Ukrainian eggs, they are amazingly beautiful next year I plan on making alot of them and stuffing them with candy like the old school. It was a fun Easter!

Soap box: Read

I wish that people were more aware of how their political actions can mean alot. Really, I know its hard to believe, when you continually vote and it does not change anything. I love to be more aware of whats happening in the world. I wish more people would take the time to read and learn what is going on. It is about expanding your horizons. We may not have the same experiences as each other but that does not mean you can't enlighten my life by your experiences. You can probably tell by the picture I have been reading alot of genocides and dictatorship. So be aware and read, don't pull a Mel Gibson! I promised along time ago when I talked about bilingual baby about a search engine for Spanish books from PBS its great tool.

DIY Projects for baby shower

One of my friends is having a baby girl at last after so many boys. So I was going to make her a tutu but I found one locally made cheaper then I could have ever made it for. But I decided to make her a tea skirt that was reversible with the tutu. It was pretty easy to make and turned well here is the instructions if you want to do it. I bought her amazing brand new clothes at this fabulous consignment boutique . I love locally owned business that sell locally made clothing.

Here are some of my favorite baby DIY projects to look into if you don't knit and feel like creating something for a shower more then a blanket and without a pattern: Making a Baby/Toddler Sling , resources for sewing slings in all varieties
Baby Sensory Tag Blanket,Newborn baby caps, this one is easy to follow
baby knot caps which I heart, girl reversible dress smooch, Make a T-shirt in 90 mins, No sew tutu you can use ribbon or elastic.

Got cloth diapers?

So in celebration of earth day we decided to sign Peanut up for the Great Cloth Diaper Change for the Guinness Book of World Records. It was more fun then expected! It was at the Lakewood Cultural Center which is pretty cool and hosted by Eco-Politan. We won a Ju-Ju-Be Changing Pad and a $25 gift card. Which we got an awesome race car for Peanut which he still has not put down still he got it. On Wednesday I went to the bookstore and Peanut wanted this creepy looking cat that looked like my Mother and younger sista would pick out from Manhattan toys the picture does not show its strangeness. I walked to the bookstore with Peanut in the Ergo baby carrier he is so big, I wish I had the stroller with me.

Needless to say all of us had a fabulous week. Peanut was even ok with sporting his sunglasses on the playground this week that made him look like Stevie Wonder as he looked at the sun. at the Easter egg Hunt on friday he didn't even care to get more then one egg. He loved playing with other kids toys more then candy.

Charlie's Soap review

In February I wrote on how we won Charlie's Soap I love the spray cleaner. The laundry powder is lame in my opinion, it does not clean stains and when it's being used for Peanut's highly sensitive skin that is what I need. a soap to get stains out and clean the clothes. I'm glad I did not buy it. I would not recommend it! But hey if any one wants to give it a try it's yours for the taking.

Hey Hair Begone

Last week I decided to drop the tassels of long hair that have plagued me for sometime, to short hair. Now, I don't know if Tangled inspired me or parenting mag did, all I have to say is I love it. It's nice to have a new spring look and hair that does not take forever to style.

While getting my hair cut I had Peanut with me in his stroller, my hairstylist Kim was amazed that he was so good. He did his yelp which was very quiet because he was way too tired to even verbalize himself but he was contend to wait it was very nice. She is a wonderful hairstylist that is fabulous with curly hair.

The Book Thief

So yesterday I finished The Book Thief written by Aussie Mark Zusak it was interesting twist on the holocaust. From the perceptive of Death on a promise-keeper who does not get caught and send away to a camp. Death narration totally reminded me of The color of Magic and Hogsfather by novelist Terry Pratchett. I liked it! Though I've read the Hiding Place, The Zoo Keeper's Wife, The Guernsey Literary and Potatoes Peel Pie Society. All have different views of the Holocaust, some are more touching to me then others, the Book Thief was refreshing it brought a new light on the regular joe-German and how they were caught in a dictatorship state and how because of personal experiences they got involved. It happens in all countries with dictatorships the citizens who can not flee are stuck in it and have to learn to survive.

It was brilliant of the author to highlight how the Fuhrer was all about words, and so was the girl. Propaganda in this book equals brain washing and is clearly more impacting on the young then others who are wiser and have lived through wars before. I like the thought that words save her. I also love that he used alot of german words in it.

Though I'm unsure about some details they seem alittle far fetched such as. Would the rich mayors wife be able to save all her library from the book burnings? Would the boy who loved Jesse Owens and could not control his mouth really have lived that long in Nazi Germany without changing his style? Would the girl who writes really survived the bombs on Himmel Street?

Homemade junk food recipes=love

I have always loved eating savory foods. My taste buds have altered a bit for sweet after Peanut was born. I like knowing what is my food with out the dictionary( and junk food at wholefoods and sunflower market are expensive). While in Chicago I learned how to make homemade oreos from a cake box and with frosting. But that was the limit of my junk food. So I found this fabulous collection of alternative recipes on re-nest.

Whatz up Peeps?

Peep Diorama contests are the new in thing for Spring time. I found this little lovely Peep display on re-nest . Love the creativity!

Brazilian Food and Grapefruit Cake

So, I adventured to make Brazilian food, I wish it were a Brazilian BBQ but I didn't have the grill for that. So I made a more Brazilian black beans and rice it was yummy. I had a ton of grapefruit that needed to be used so we made grapefruit yogurt cake found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen. Peanut said to me yesterday as he waved at me and run off "Au revoir." I'm teaching him Spanish where did the perfect French come from?

Crewe and Cristo

I read Sara Crewe off gutenberg online a few weeks ago. Having gotten the book idea from Cinderella Ate my daughter. It was a wonderful book on good mannered princess back in merry old England. I absolutely wish that our day and age would go back to that refinement of manners. She was not entitled rather in a horrible mess her only friend was Emily her doll, it reminded me of Tom Hanks in Cast Away actually. Though she was scourged and beat up she still treated the people around her with the utmost respect. It was amazing! Contrast that kind behavior with Count of Monte Cristo though two different cultures the French are more passionate people then the English particularly about lovers. Edmond Dante's is regrettably wrenched for being a simpleton. The author is amazing in his writing. Traditionally, Christian writings you see the good people get rich and the greed people are in awful situations as punishment, but here it's reverse and Dantes takes upon himself the role judge and has revenge which blows up in his face in the end. It is rich with adventures and scheming. I love this book.

Hopping into Strawberry Milk and German food

So this weekend between Mr. Incredible breaking of concrete and building of bridges (all in a days' work) and conference. We watched the movie Hop for our date with tons of candy. I could not help myself the movie that highlights a bunny pooping jelly beans, it would be tragic going empty handed so all assorted of tasty treats that totaled two pounds. I had the candy on my lap and a little 6 year old girl sat next to me wide eyed seeing the large amount of candy that was on my lap. It was funny, almost as much as the popularity of the Peeps diorama contests. Hop was a good movie it got me in the mood for Easter.

When we went to Colorado Springs to go with Mr. Incredible to see the bridges. We stopped at our favorite German restaurant, we loved it. Peanut thoroughly enjoyed his kasespatzle, German noodles with Swiss cheese. It was amazing that he was so clean after he ate it. Later we made really strawberry milk and cupcakes it was amazing. Got the idea and recipe for re-nest.com

Climbing Nut

So Peanut has climbed up all over the furniture. Yeah, like Godazilla attacking new york city. This week climbing was pursuit of a piece of candy that was on the table that I had no clue that it was up there. A few minutes after I found him in the middle of the dining table devouring away at Daddy's lemon sugar sticks with a huge grin. Daddy the high places were safe, he was wrong. Child proving is non-invalid clearly at this point. But, I still try so we won't have roasted a Peanut. I like my peanut just the way he is.

Ice Cream Candied Real Pirates

I'm more of a ninja gal myself, but the exhibit for real pirates was so tempting that Mr. Incredible and I went to it. Having eaten my divine ice cream candied malts before the museum having each color was a blast of a different flavor like green apple, dreamsicle and vanilla. Set a great tone to seeing a cool yet disturbing piece of history. Pirates were business men with moral compasses that didn't always point north. This I already knew.

Unlike the Somalian pirates of our day with dinghys and AK-47's,(and Disney's ride was changed from raging after women to raging after food): these pirates particularly the whydah pirates that were highlighted set themselves more in style with silks, beautifully decorated pistols called the George Washington and commandeered a slave ship thus continuing the lucrative trade of slaves adding to the list of goodies they could sell. Rum+Slave=Caribbean style, right?

Why is it that men do crazy things for women? Sam Bellamy the captain took up piracy to gain his love Maria's hand. John King a 8 year old pirate who was willing to kill his mother to join the ranks. What crazy love? And I only thought Disney could make-up such a tale of a warped girl who did anything for the love of pirates. I was wrong! But what scally wag in his right mind would take such a psychotic kid under his wing? In a fight he does have the upper hand no one would suspect a 8 year-old who is willing to brutally torture someone for sport.

The ship that you get to walk through was awesome Mr. Incredible had to get his sea legs on. Interestingly Pirates had a better diet, living quarters and pay then merchant sailors. Who were treated a tad bit better then slaves and low-paid servants-- if paid at all. I questioned if the merchants better then the pirates? After seeing there treatment of people I'm unsure. Or is it a conspiracy to get me to watch the supposedly final movie of Disney's saga of Pirates? Curse you national geographic for making me think that piracy was a great alternative to being a honest laborer! Now, just don't ruin ninjas for me!

Candied Peanut and Soap

Yesterday was Hammond's Candy factory tour which was awesome. Peanut was occupied by a strawberry 1 oz lollipop that he devoured throughout the tour. He looked like a Augustus Gloop with hard candy. Daddy chomped the last pieces of lollipop from Peanut offering to him him it. Peanut was so sad. We went through the store he knew what that sweet stuff was and cried for more until it was out of sight.

Today we made some soap with cocoa butter (the picture is the 16 bar) , our friends we will call them Batman and crew came to watch us. It was so much fun. We realized that with all the cocoa butter we have, during a disaster could be made in to a very lucrative business of chocolate making. Not enough people tell you that self-efficacy is empowering and fun. So when disaster strikes you know where to turn to get chocolaty sweets. Be prepared to barter though!

Fling into Spring

Yesterday the whole family went to the Spring Fling that Colorado Mountain Mamas put on. I love that organization already. We decided to take a loaner hiking back pack around the hike. I've been thinking about getting one to hike with. Peanut was interested at first in what we were putting him in, then was scared to realize once on mommy's back his freedom of movement was restrained, until we started hiking the loop trail where he discovered being high on mommies back afforded him a great view of the birds. Quite a comfortable ride for him, I actually liked it more then pushing a stroller around the trails. One woman who had a BOB revolution stroller had a difficult time managing to push. It was a way fun family event where the Audobon Center had snake hides and other animinal hides that you could touch and learn about the wild life that lived there.

Pow-Wow

March for me symbolizes the annual Pow-Wow which this year we were able to attend. It was awesome! Though the Denver Coliseum has no elevators we saw electric wheel chairs and tons of strollers on the 3rd floors. Which Peanut's City Mini came in handy I just folded in half and carried up the stairs with us. The dancing was awesome, there were cute little 2 year old dancing fully decked out in traditional costume it was so cute to see them.
Fryer concession stand opened up at noon as the schedule said, of course that is one of the many reasons we went, great Navajo fry bread is not everywhere. I was amazing at how they had an event for everyone at the Pow-wow with the storytelling telling, the dancing, the singing, and quilt judging. It was awesome. Mr. Incredible wishes he were of native american ancestry so he could be a warrior.

Imperial potty training

Archery and slow cooking

This last weekend were some fun times. I discovered that I'm not the person you want to rely on with a bow and arrow for food. Yes, that is my arrow wedged in the wall. I got mad skills I know. It was a blast though. With ricochets off the wall and things like moose cream one can not stop laughing. Mr. Incredible was super babysitting Peanut and others as well. He never ceases to amaze me.

Inspired by some of my friends who love curry as much as our family. I challenged myself to make multiple Indian dishes in one day. Having learned from my dear friends in India to make Dol and other dishes. Also having tasted all different regional dishes in India, I decided to make more Northern dishes due to the hot factor but I used the southern flare of coconut milk.

In order to maximize my kitchen space I actually used both my crock pots for the first time to cook. Chicken Vindaloo and Lamb Korma were the dishes I made in the crock pots. The others I did were Aloo Tikka Masala and Patta Gobi Dol. Aloo means potato and Patta Gobi means cauliflower. The Aloo was taken over by me putting to much tomato in it. It looked and tasted more like a version of Indian Italian sauce for pizza. I did it because my beautiful Colorado purple potatoes did not look right in Indian Tikka Masala. The smells of the food and the taste of the Naan, Bhrantas and mint chutney took me back to when I lived there. I love my India! It was all topped off with fresh homemade ice cream delish. Loved it! Thanks to my baker who bravery cooked on the stove and oven instead of a tandoori oven. The Naan and Bhrantas were fab as well as the company that came.

Tiger Mom ate my daughter and the Cinderella Battle Hymn

You may wonder about my title! Well it's the clash of civilizations in parenting literature always fun for all. Two great books on parenting but different views. Very different.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom. I love the book! A Yale law professor that will make time to teach and be home with her children and in a some what crazy style. Makes motherhood look real and wonderful. She is there with and for her children every step of the way and giving notes. The debate in the news is she crazy? ...Ahh, most definitely, but I don't think one should judge her solely on that! Which Mom is not crazy in one form or another, though? It's a different style of parenting, look at it as such and if you want to change your style do it. She has a clear vision of where she wants her girls to go with music, and school. She wants her daughters to succeed. Great example of hard work.

Cinderella Ate my Daughter I found in the section of Barnes and Noble women's study. Which was odd considering its brand new and in parenting books. It is an informative view on the princess movement. Though the author lacks a clear picture of what she wants her daughter to be. Clearly she does not want them to be princesses entitled and only with beauty and charm. She leaves that realm open to the child, but is shockingly horrified to find out that her daughter wants to be a Disney princess. Still I'm reading it so maybe she will tell us as mothers how to teach our daughters a better way. I don't think so considering her feminist view never takes in consideration that boys and girls may think differently. Though I'm enjoying the Cinderella Battle Hymn which does terrorify me. The Tiger Mom would eat her daughter for lunch while beating that princess out of her because she has a clear vision of what they should do even at a young age. Though that is a debate of the West vs the rest in parenting style. I like the history and education of the book though. Parenting here in the USA is relative.

Gym Rat

Yes, that is me! I love the gym. Swimming, zumba, bikes, weights, yoga you name it. I saw the general manager of gym at chick-fila and you could tell he was scared that I was going to mob him like the masses of women did last week when they heard zumba classes were going to a sign up sheet. My take is this. Ladies and/or gentleman if you only come to the gym for zumba go to a studio that specializes in just that (our latin teacher teaches at one).

Psycho Beast sequel

In college I was called psycho beast while I displayed my cutlery skills on a piece of innocent cheese. Since then, I have continued to utilize my cutlery skills to their max. Last week as I was making braised radishes with these extremely huge watermelon radishes that weighed half a pound each. The recipe clearly was using small radishes. So I thought that cooking them first would soften them so I let them cook. Then took then out and proceeded to attempt a clean slice of them. Well I took out my extreme large knife and started to cut as I did there were loud banging on the counter and the pieces of radishes were flying in many directions. I didn't think about it until I finished cutting and had placed the radishes back in the pot.

Knock, knock on the door I went to it, my upstairs neighbor was there, he was wondering if I was banging on the ceiling to quiet them down. I assured him they were not loud and awkwardly tried to tell me that all the banging was from me cooking. Well my smooth talk came out like this... " the noise was me ....I was cutting... veggies." He was extremely perplexed by his look but was to gentleman like to say anything but " thanks bye."

Celery Root Soup

Love NY fashion week with Jason Wu collection. Siriano's models falling all over the runway which was coined as bloodbath by some. Mr. Increditible was off to his warrior thing this weekend. So I thought perfect time to use my celery root. Celery Root is ugly to look at. It looked like it has something sprouting from it. I wanted to find a great recipe, I found one from a vegan chef off Oprah. It was Celery Root soup with Granny Smith Apples. Because I did not have cashew cream I used half and half instead. I'm not vegan as you can tell.

So, I took on the daunting task of peeling the root, took me forever. Peels of earth were flying in every direction. Peanut was sad because Mommy was in the kitchen for along time wrestling with roots. I'm extremely slow at cutting veggies you can imagine a hard root was just plain painful. Finally done chopping the roots and other ingredients were cooking on the stove.

As we wait for the soup to finish cooking. Peanut was delighted that Mommy read books to him and we played games of running, which inevitable ended in Peanut giggling hysterically on the floor. I was relieved that the roots were peeled and happy with the aroma of the soup. That soup did not disappoint. It was unbelievable good and next time I want to try it with the cashew cream, because of the fat content in it and creamier taste it would bring.

Moving and Winning

Last weekend, we helped some of our dear friends move their storage unit to go to AZ We will miss them alot. With Peanut strapped onto my back in the snow he does not like it as he used too. Which saddens me greatly, probably due to the fact that he wants to walk around on ice.

Peanut and I were sitting in car my friend's car warming up with my friend and her kiddo. Once their little eyes caught hold of their Daddies moving boxes out the window all cries broke loose. Wailing for Daddy was a long cry until my friend's sister came in with doughnuts, Peanut was happy to get the one with sprinkles he devoured that doughnut with vigor and was sad when Mommy throwout the mashed up mess after. We said our goodbyes to our friends with exchange promises of visiting and bluebell ice cream.

We went to Eco-politian one of the greatest eco-friendly children's store in the area. It was their 1st birthday celebration and they were giving away loads of stuff. Mr. Incredible won a package of Charlie's Soap with a bag, laundry powder and all-purpose cleaner bonus is it's made in a USA. Perfect timing because we had just ran out of all-purpose cleaner. So far I like it, it claims to clean up anything. Peanut will put that to the test!

Amyst potatoes

I'm a foodie I must admit! I love natural blues and purples in my food for antioxidants. Well, I've been fortunate enough to find a place that allows me those opportunities without leaving my house. I got purple potatoes that were grown in CO.

After a perfect meal of spinach potato cakes drizzled with tomato sauce and mozzarella it was a very polish infused dish. I had some potatoes left over so I made mashed potatoes. Oh, it is so beautiful to see Amyst color in starch. I felt decent as mashed the gem tots. Wanting to see more beauty in the bowl I decided to add sour cream to make it a lavender color. It made me happy and it delicious too! A must to bring for a spring party!

Teething

Parents have had to deal with the doom that inevitable affects every child....teething. I used to think it was painful only for the little babies, you know the crankiness, fever, unpleasant liquids coming out etc. Wrong I was, indeed.

One day about a week ago Peanut clamped down on Daddy's knee then numbed on his nose, that night he decided to take a bite at my thigh, instead of the numerous teething toys that we have for him. He does not stop at human flesh though. The crib will never be the same, it looks like a shark attacked it. I had to clean his face from all the paint chips. The texas armadillo stuff animal nose was eaten off. Be aware of the teething Peanut he may take a chomp out of you!

Zumba

For the last couple of weeks I have enjoyed bouncing and jamming to the music. The instructor that I love going to his class is intense. Clearly he is from Latin America. It's not him alone that keeps me coming back to the steamed up mirrored class that is full of Latin music and screaming women ...the Latinas alone make that class awesome. They infuse so much style of dance and musicality into that class that it is like being at a salsa club. The enthusiasm makes me work harder. When I look at the instructor moves in my mind I'm doing better then he is, but when I look in the mirror it's a different story all together.

Who knew crackers were so ponderous!

Our toilet supposedly got fixed, but it still bubbles and fills the bowl to the top-- at least it does not over flow. So this week Mr. Incredible went back to school for the long stretches of hours per day, that me and Peanut get to bond more. Love that kid! So I went to Peanut bedroom one morning to grab something and heard a thunk on the ground else where. Came in to the living room to find Peanut content eating Annie's cheddar bunnies one at a time from the box.


He then shook the contents of the box on top of him, giggled loudly while shoving some bunnies in his mouth. After that he put almost all the bunnies that were laying on the floor back in the box. I automatically thought to myself that I have somehow by example installed in my child's brain to clean the house. My ego on that principle was popped quickly. Peanut dumped all the bunnies on floor. I stopped him before he squashed them to powder.

Water-Logged

So Mr. Incredible did his weekend warrior thing this weekend. Well, on the snow blizzard morning of Sunday my front toilet was bubbling, then flooded the entire bathroom floor. Peanut wanted to play in water, he did not understand the concept of it being gross. Thankfully I own enough towels for a whole army unit, which went to work quickly--I continually rotated them through out the day. Water was everywhere! What bought more wound to injure was I was untwisting one of Peanut's sippy cups and the water flung on me from that. Sun where are you to blast me with your rays and dry me with your warmth?

Apple monster

Peanut discovered yesterday that Mommy and Daddy bought apples by pulling down the lot off the counter. He punctured the apples with at least 2 bite marks in the ones he could not devour. The apples looked as if he was trying to suck the essense out of them. We have indeed, created a monster that hunts and torturously devours all the apples he lays eyes on. Cookie monster is no match for this kid! Apples you have been warned!

Plus our little monster got his golden fro cut off for the first time, he was giggling and laughing the entire time, wondering what the electrical thing in Mommy's hand was. I hope his first dentist appointment gets that same warm welcome!

New Years resolution

So Mr. Increditable and I decided to have a family new years resolution. We decided to buy all USA made stuff because we want to help build the USA economy. I'm not going to write about the hardships or the political issues here on this blog but you can follow our adventures in doing that.

Ice!

"We froze charlie brown" was the theme that Gaylord Ice! had this year. Nothing like 200 million pounds of water frozen kept in a building which tempture is 9 degrees to make you feel as if you were at the Chinese Ice Festival, the artists come every year-- it is amazing. I love that I don't have to freeze in the streets of China, to experience beautiful ice sculptures, but I get to put on a blue parka and see it. My Mom, big sista, Lil' sista, and niece Thunderstar were with us as we went through. I loved that they had a navitity in ice at the end. I missed the polars bears, birds and bridge sculptor this year. Peanut did not smile most of the time, probably because his face was cold. Crazy how they won't let you bring strollers and it took us over an hour and a half to get through the whole thing. Peanut is a heavy baby!

Christmas

We always go to my Aunt's home to celebrate Christmas Eve. Peanut found a stool that had wheels and was pushing it all over the place, until we bought out the flying santa. Peanut would flee at the sight of it. The airplaned Santa has a propeller that words blinging brightly on it and the music blaired loudly"Santas is coming to town". Daddy and his Aunt tried so hard to get him around the toy only to see Peanut trying to run to me. Who knew santa would scare a kid so much. He saw Santa at the Hammonds Candy Cane Festival at the beginning of December, though I did not put him on his lap.

It's a tradition that night to have a white elephant exchange. The funny thing is the hot items besides the homemade quilts are the lottery tickets. People will get ruthless to get those tickets, like taking it from Grandma who is deaf and has dementia. Voltures. All in all, it was a great Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning Lil' sista woke all of us in my Mom's home up at 5:30 am to open gifts. Peanut still does not get the unwrapping of the gifts part. He started to cry when we put him in the gift bag that was bigger then him. It was the biggest gift bag I've ever seen. He was very tired. Then off to my Aunt's house again for breakfast and celebrations. It was a wonderful time with our family.

Holiday in the Park

For a few weeks since black Friday I lost my voice of course its the week that I have to call everyone it seems sounding like a dying frog croaking. Holiday in the Park at six flags over Texas was awesome it was cold weather but not too cold, we went with my Mom, and Lil' sista(Aunt M). The fatty- fried Twinkies and Smores were wonderful according to Lil' sista and Mr. Incredible I choose the soup choice with Mom.

Mom, Peanut and I sat and listened to performance of christmas music with hot chocolate. Peanut and Mom loved looking at the lights that were performing to the trans-Siberian orchestra. It's always magically fun when your with family. Of couse we pitied the Jackson 5 want-to-bes who were lip singing and wished we could have paid them to get off the stage ASAP. We were glad we could go with Mom and Lil' sista.

Black Friday

I have to admit, Black Friday is the most chaotic shopping day of the year and I love every minute of it. My sister in law whom we will call Princess and I woke up after about 4 hours of sleep to go shopping at 4:30 in the morning. We hit Kohls, target, the outlet stores. I got 70 % off at Children's Place and Ann Taylor loft. I got some great jeans for $12. According to New York times retailers gave average .25 cents cheaper on Friday then on Saturday, but I thought it was worth it. I got sales and the stores were only 10 minutes or less from each other. We shopped from 4:30 to 9 am and I brought donuts home for Mr. Incredible and the rest of the family that did not want to partake in the madness with Princess and I.

We went on a double date with Princess and my brother whom we will call Captain Awesome. We went to a mexican resturant where we were freezing being in the covered patio. We thawed out at Harry Potter 7, which as you know I'm a huge fan of the books. I thought the portrayal of the horcrux where Hermonine and Harry were nude glitter figures did not fit and it was lame. I also felt that the movie lost the storyline from the book which makes it brighter then the deathly situation that is the main theme.

Peanut's Party

So a long while ago, we celebrated Peanut's birth with family and friends. It was awesome. None of our friends with little guys came, but we had a fabulous crowd of grandparents and grandparents to be. Peanut was spoiled!

The decor was Peanut in a tiger costumes with orange and black streamers. His Aunt M, who is gifted with decorations, graced us with her talents. It had white lanterns and yummy food.

When we put his pumpkin cake in front of him to destroy it he stared at Aunt M thinking that everyone was staring at her instead of him. He did not want to eat the cake at all. After Mr. Incredible ate some so Peanut knew that it was meant to be eaten. He put it all over his face looked like the Hulk after that green frosting was spread all over.