Ridiculously Good Sticky Buns (aka Cinnamon Rolls)

Rule #1 allow yourself enough time to make these since it's of the essence.

Dough :

1 Cup warm milk
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup brown sugar
5- 5 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Filling :

3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Cup chopped pecans
(raisins optional)

Topping :

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup butter
1/3 rum (for adults version)
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans


About a day ahead of time prepare dough. Add warm milk, sugar, and yeast till dissolved.
Next beat eggs, butter, and flour, and rest of dough ingredients until dough is nice and soft. Kneed until smooth. Coat with butter, transfer to a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for 8 hours... (or overnight)

Next day (or several hours of PATIENTLY waiting later), prepare the filling. Once dough has been rolled out into a rectangular -ish shape. Coat with butter and spread filling over. Roll up and then cut dough cross/wise... (whatever if I hadn't seen this or done it before I never would have figured it out)
Place them in a pan, and allow TIME to rise. Only an hour and a half longer!!!


(Huge sigh! Kids nagging "are they done yet? are they done yet?" )

Finally, bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cover with topping! and eat!! eat eat eat!!!

Oh Look! A Wall.

The past few days have been very difficult. I'm beginning to think that I'm such a baby. I hate to think of myself this way, but what else can I say.

Thanksgiving Day, I woke up unable to move. Well, unable to move without an extreme amount of pain. The kind of nauseating, seeing spots, unable to keep yourself from bursting out crying pain. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to me in my sleep.

But, it was Thanksgiving, and while everyone else is being thankful for everything including their last pair of underwear, I was just trying not to scream with each step I took. And that sucked, because I really enjoy it when my family gets together.

But it was like I wouldn't even realize I'd let out a gasp until it was already out. The only comparison I can make would be really bad back labor, or maybe breaking your tail bone.
Well, I managed to make it through the day with a concoction of Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Rum, and Wine.
But Friday, I couldn't take it anymore. I moved just for a split second and a wave of nauseous pain ripped through me.I couldn't see anything but white and black spots.

That's when I gave up and couldn't take it anymore.

Remember when Squints Paladoras finally snaps "I can't take this no more!"

Yep, that was me.

I finally went to the Dr. They walked me to the hospital after giving me a REALLY great shot.
Turns out I had a cyst the ruptured and was leaking "God knows only what kind of horrible stuff" into my abdomen.
A week later, I'm still not feeling so great, but worlds better than last week.

A HUGE hug to anyone who has ever been through this. THESE SUCK!!!

It's What You've All Been Waiting For

I know some of you have been foaming at the mouth for updates on my novel.

Well, I'm writing this to tell you all you wont have long to wait.

I'm currently beefing up a synopsis that is to die for. It's gonna give the main concepts and ideas behind the book. Where the idea came from... and details to the main characters and plot...

In case you're wondering... I wont give away any of the ending...and it's written in a sequel style so... the second and final book hasn't even been written (in complete) yet.

I just hope you enjoy my characters as much as I do...

and don't worry I love them enough not to give up on them.

One day... Adam and Evy will have their say (gasp... oops is that a give away?)

Attack of the Creepy Neighbors!

Ever seen the movie "The Burbs?"

I swear, I have these neighbors. Okay, maybe not burying dead bodies in the back yard creepy, but definitely creepy.

Especially after dark. *bring on the scary movie music*

My kitchen window faces their back yard. Which means when I'm in my kitchen washing dishes, they can watch me. And they do.

Imagine stirring a pot of noodles, turning to the fridge to get some milk, setting it on the counter, and glancing out the window to see a dark shadow looming on his back porch.
It's enough to make me scream!
*Sigh* I hate creepy neighbors.
This summer I'm putting in a tree. A big one!

Lets ALL Go To The Movies!

What have I gotten myself into this time?

I swore I would NEVER do this again. And here I am, doing it again!

Last year, I went to twilight with a handful of girlfriends and my sisters. We stood in a ridiculous long line in the freezing cold for hours, we sat in bad seats, and we didn't hear one freakin word. You wanna know why? Because for some reason, girls that are under the age of 21 scream when they see Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

*sigh*
All I can think is why? Why, oh why am I doing this to myself...again?

Well, whatever... maybe secretly I'm just a twi-freak who hates other twi-freaks. Or maybe I'm just impatient. Patience never has been a key character trait of mine.

Oh well, tonight I'm going to "New Moon."
Who's with me? DON'T LIE!

No Subject (No really!)

There are few people I only ever open mail from.

One of the usual email-ers, besides my mom, is my homeschool resource consultant.
And the usual content is something about some reading group, or upcoming event, or reminder that I haven't logged my hours. They usually say "no subject."
Today, I grimaced and thought "well, more paperwork". But NO, OH NO! NO NO NO NO!

The letter said...

"We have ordered too many sheep hearts. Would you like one?"

WHAT?!

What am I suppose to say to this? "Sure, I'd love a sheep heart. And do you have any brains and maybe some courage to go along with it?"

Well, this would be one learning experience my kids will never forget. I think, I'm gonna get one.

And by the way, I will never open up another email from her without wondering what could possibly be inside. You never know.

Half Santa, Half Scrooge!

Confession: I have no Christmas presents hiding in my closet.

You know what this means, right? SHOPPING! And I don't say that in a good way. I say it in a more Alfred Hitchcock, screaming and running in terror, kind of way.

At this time of year, yeah... I'm WAY behind.
Don't get me wrong. I love giving presents. I love finding that perfect gift that practically screams the person's name as I walk by it in the store. Its when I can't find it or its really expensive, that I'm frustrated and irritated and wishing I were somewhere else. Wishing Charlie Brown's Christmas were true and that we only sent Christmas Cards to people we really actually like, rather than every person we've ever met in our lives (and some we even haven't).
But the fact remains, I'm not Oprah with an endless supply of money to spend. And I'm not putting Christmas on credit. (Sorry, but THAT'S BAD!!!)

So this year, Santa Clause is not shopping at Enstoms(tear), Macy's, or the Apple store. Santa is going to the dollar store! An apple, orange, and a bag of peanuts fill a stocking up cheaper than anything else. I still get a thrill from wrapping up a two dollar box of chocolate covered cherries and hiding them under the tree(seriously, it's fun).

Well, now that I've psyched myself up for this... time to get going.

And by the way, we haven't done our Christmas Card photos yet either. *sigh*

Cutest Ever!

I swear to God, I do not make up cuteness....

I was sitting in bed listening through the bedroom door to the kids.

Justin says in a high pitch voice "Give me the ruby slippers or I'll sic the monkeys on you."

Cody says "NOOOOOO!"

Justin says "Oh look! A munchkin!"

AC runs giggling though the house.

Have You Had Your Daily Dose of Depression?

Raise your hand if you know who Debbie Downer is.

If you don't know, she's an SNL made-up character. The kind of person that would remind you of how many people die from malaria each year if she saw you get a mosquito bite. Or she would inform you of the average puppy death statistics if she saw a pet food commercial.

My point?

Ever notice that the news is a lot like Debbie Downer?

Two people died in a...they found more bodies...plane crash in the...SWINE FLU!!!

I'm sorry, but you know what... this information does me NO GOOD! Its gone from being informative to just gossip. The news people sit in their little cubicles thinking of ways to freak out the public, cause paranoia, and digging for the worst "shocker" story they can find.

Well, today I found a great website. FINALLY!!! Finally, we get to hear about nice things.

www.goodnewsnow.com

Don't worry, I'm well aware that its religious-based and that may tweak someone's hair. Well, I don't really care! If your too much of baby to get past the fact that something nice is being said about someone in a religious pretext... GO CRY TO DEBBIE DOWNER!

Party the Right Way!

Now, I'm all for a fun birthday party. Who doesn't want to feel special on their birthday?
I have five children. (For those of you aren't observant enough to notice) But five birthdays in one year is excessive, don't ya think?
Fortunately all of my kids were born in two months (different years, of course... lets not be silly). November and May!

So...we have two parties. One in May and one in November (duh).

Obviously, gender specific parties are just irritating and dumb. It doesn't make the party any more special if you had transformers or strawberry shortcake on your party favors.
It just says "Mom was dumb enough to spend all that money on cheap crap that's going to be destroyed and thrown out the second it leaves the area."

And NO! I refuse to invite all the neighbor kids and every child mine have ever met. Relatives and cousins are good enough!

Okay! So what is important?

Pick a theme! (and no, Spiderman and Disney princesses don't count)

Need help?

*Fiesta -(mexican style fun -pinatas, margaritas(for the adults) and I YI YI YI music is totally cool...not to mention sopapillas!)

For those of you wondering, it's okay to drink at a kids party. It's just not okay for anyone to get drunk. There's a difference...but that's another story.

*Luau -(everyone wears hawaiian, get those little umbrellas for the mai tai's, leis, barbecue hot dogs if your uncool with the pig roast.. and dont forget some beach boys music or ukalele style is great. Fruit pizza on cookie dough is a great alternative to cake. BE CREATIVE!)


If creativity is just really not your thing... there are a million ideas online.

This November Party's theme was fall. Seems too obvious, right?
*Well, bobbing for apples is an endangered tradition so we did our part to bring it back.
*Bale of straw costs $7. (game appropriately named "needle in the haystack") I hid two bags of candy in all that mess. Handed each child a bag and said, "go find it."
*Who doesn't like to roast hotdogs and marshmallows over a fire?(finicky adults...but again, that's another story) Fire-pits are a wonder. I can't imagine why they weren't popular sooner.
*Follow it up with throwing the ol' pigskin around.


Yep! We had ourselves a great time!

Its All in the Head

Recently, Luke to the boys hunting. This is a good thing! It's guy time! You know, when they don't have to worry about belching and farting and getting dirty and smelling like sweat, dirt, and foul boy funk.
I have visions of them running through the woods half naked and howling at the moon.

Well anyways, they managed to shoot a deer. This is a good thing! It's guy time! He's training the boys the most basic survival skills, right.

After field dressing (ick) and taking it to the meat packing plant (ick) they brought all the meat home last weekend.

I've been overly supportive. I made Burgandy Venison with Egg Noodles, Venison Tacos, Steak Au Poivre, and Chili.

Did I eat any of it... NOOOOOO!

I was raised to gag at the idea of "field fresh" meat and any kind of fish. I know I shouldn't be like this, but I can't help it.

And yeah I know.... It's all in my head.