I made pie crust!!

For years I have been jealous of anyone who can make pie crust. I have tried many times and bombed with impressive failure! My Papa (a cook from WWII and an impressive pie maker.) tried to share his gift, at one point saying, "Hollee dear, you're not getting through life on your looks, so you'd better be able to bake a pie". :)  He was tormenting of course, but I still couldn't make pie crust.
So tonight, I consulted The Pioneer Woman for a pie crust recipe and HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!! Not only did I find a recipe but it freakin works!!!!!!! I MADE A CHERRY PIE!!!!! (and then we ate it all! ) shhhhhhhhh! :)

The superstition behind snow days...

The forcast is calling for 5-10 cm of snow followed by freezing rain and other nastyness.  Both of the girls are pretty optomistic, but Soph is a little over the top.  I learned that there are many rituals to guarantee a snow day! lol  Such as;

• flushing ice cubes down the toilet (My Mother tipped her off on this one and flushed a few of her own for good measure. )
• sleeping with a spoon under your pillow
• dancing in front of an open freezer
• wearing your pyjamas inside out and backwards. (Even DH tried this one. )

Honestly, I'm not even sure that's everything, but it  was a jam packed ritual that will guarantee a snow day tomorrow:) Although I am not as convinced that it's as fool proof as my 9 year old would haveme believe, if school should be cancelled...you have my kid to thank. :)

Update:  Sophia sez "You're welcome" :)

The things you hear at Tim Hortons...

While standing in the line up at Tim Hortons this morning, I overheard a girl behind the counter say…”I want to write an Opera about bacon”…ummm ok? 

What if I"ve lost it??!

I love baking - I do!  I can't help it.  It's my "happy pill".  I have dubbed myself a stress baker, simply because when my world is going insane around me, all I have to do is bake something and "POOF!" everything is better! :)  I'm a junkie for the smile.  You know what Im' talking about...Have you ever passed anybody an adorably decorated cupcake and not had them smile?? That's what it's all about for me! The smile!  Ironically enough, I don't even eat it!  I mean - I do...but I don't inhale it just cuz it's there.  I'd rather let somebody else enjoy it. I'm more of a boredom eater...which is probably why I bake. :)

Lately, I've wanted to try something different.  I've been noticing tons of cupcake ideas around and thought I'd give it a whirl!  After all - it's like cake decorating on a smaller scale and I can easily pull off pretty much any design - YAY!  Plus - it's much closer to the instant gratification category that I'm also a junkie for. :)  Anyhoo - I have a work meeting coming up next month and figued I'd bake for the group.  Cupcakes!  Pretty sunflower cupcakes with oreo centers - yeah!  That's what I'll do! :)  But I have to test them first - oh darn!  I hate it when I have to eat the test subjects. NOT!! So - I start my search for a good reliable recipe.  I found a pretty good chocolate one and everything went' great.  The batter even tasted good.  Trouble is...I burnt the bottoms. :(  Ok - Next dozen...lower the temp by 25 and raise the rack...burnt!!  AUGH...Ok - so chocolate cupcakes - even with burnt bottoms will get eaten.  I decorated them anyway and they turned out pretty good.  Super cute actually :)  But too burnt to share with anyone beyond immediate family. :(

Tonight I tried a vanilla cupcake recipe that rawked!!!  They turned out beautifully...except that I burnt the bottoms AGAIN!!! 4 DOZEN CUPCAKES BURNT!!!

I have lowered the temperature, raised my rack, replaced my pans, reduced cooking time...and I'm still burning them!!  :(  What if I have lost my baking super power??!  What do I do then??  This has never happenned before and I don't like it - not at all! :(  And so...There won't be any cupcakes for work tomorrow...and consequently...there is no baking therapy for me. :(

If I would have been born rich instead of beautiful, I could buy myself a new stove...but what if it's not the stove? :(   Oh lord! I'll let you know how the 5th and 6th dozen make out. :(

Pictures are worth a billion words

I'am pretty sure I haven't stopped since October...but getting it all down will take a short forever, soooo...Here's a brief photo-history of what's gone on in the last few months...

Mousey cake for Squid's 1st birthday. :)

Birthday cake for boss...may have posted this already (??)

Unicorn - crochet pony for a baby shower (the flower comes off :)

Mickey mouse hat...worked on in between trips to the hospital with kiddo and numerous battles with the common cold.

2nd take at Cookie Monster hat - round 1 only fit a 2 year old - *sigh*  patterns + hook size + yarn weight do not always = the hat size you are planning on.

3rd Elmo hat in a row...need a break from Elmo for a while. :)

Kiddo turned 9 and had her 1st house party in years. :)

Christmas violin recital :)

Merry Christmas (LOVE the t-shirt...too bad they didn't make it in my size. ;)

YAY! BABY GERMS!!!  I think I earned the title "favorite aunt"...but I sure do miss her. :(  10 days wasn't long enough. :(

Pasta...DH got a pasta maker for Christmas...trying it out was an adventure for sure!

This is DH's newest hobby.  He has 3 planes so far...I'm pretty sure there are more on the way...and he hasn't flown one yet. *sigh* good thin he's cute. :) 

Oh - and this is what a 13 year old who just got a Kobo looks like :)

Ok - so more than that has happenned...but thoses are the highlights...that I got pictures of anyway :)  Hope you're having a fantastic 2012! :)

Toomuch to tell

I can't believe i havent posted in over a month! I got a tablet for Christmas and I love it inso many ways...but not for typing and posting. I type over 90wpm on a regular keyboard but on the tablet...less than 7wpm ifIm lucky. And so, I will log in from my regular computer and pozt later cuz I have toomuch to tellfor 7wpm.