And the Winner Is....

The winner of the Pioneer Woman Cookbook is....Maureen from Illinois!!! Congratulations to Maureen! She'll be fixing supper for us all on...just kidding! But I do think I smell something really great wafting over to Missouri from Illinois! Since I bought myself a copy of the cookbook as well I think I'll go sink into my space on the couch and see what recipe I'm going to try! Merry Christmas, friends!

Pioneer Woman Cookbok Giveaway

I promised a giveaway a few weeks ago and I think it's high time I followed through!!! I became interested in blogging due to this woman, Ree Drummond, also known as Pioneer Woman. She is one of the best and widely known of all bloggers. Her blog chronicles her life on a ranch in Oklahoma with her husband and 4 children. She is also an accomplished cook. She has just released her first cookbook, and, so, I'm pleased to be giving one away.

I've not done this before so help me muddle through. To enter just leave a comment telling me what it is you like best about the holiday season. Not hard...one word will do although I welcome more. (For me my one word would be "food". But I have my own cookbook!) I'd also appreciate it if you would sign on as one of my followers...it's kind of embarrassing only having three when two of them are relatives! Of course, you'll have to leave a way for me to contact you. If you are shy and I know you, you know how to get in touch with me. This contest will close on Monday, December 14th, at 7:00 p.m. CST. Good luck and Merry Christmas!!!

H.K. Anderson pretzels...endorsed by Sam!

Sam and I have discovered a great new snack that is quickly turning into an addiction! H.K. Anderson's Pretzels...yes, I said pretzels. But these aren't just any pretzels! I found the sacks in the checkout at Walmart. (Yes, an impulse buy.)
The simple, retro packaging is what caught my eye. I took the bag home and it was quickly devoured by a young man who is rather picky about his food. Sam's ADD medication suppresses his appetite, so I was pleased to find a healthier snack for him that he would actually eat. The pretzels are filled with peanut butter and are quite yummy. They were such a hit I started searching for a larger package. I found these containers across the aisle from the potato chips. Besides the peanut butter filled pretzels they also carry the pretzel balls-double baked butter. I think the pretzel balls are my favorite, but Sam always goes for the peanut butter pretzels.
Check them out the next time you're in Walmart and let me know which is your favorite. After all, we could be eating much worse things, right???

Holiday Hunt

Sonja Henngeler and Kristi Wolbert threw one heck of a "Holiday Hunt" last Sunday at The Hanger in Maryville. They really out did themselves, bringing in some of best artisans, showing us that "this ain't no ordinary craft show".

My hands down favorite was the pottery of Andy Rogers. Andy lives in Maryville and creates the most beautiful pottery. He has mastered blending his love of ceramics and gardening in his organic forms. I'll tell you more about Andy and his work in a later chapter. Let's just say I bought myself a Christmas present...or two...or three..Okay, four! Dammit I deserve it!!! You can check Andy out at www.andyrogersceramics.com. Sorry about the blurry photo. Here are some more pictures of Andy's work.

This is my new BFF, Ben. His family works with stone from Israel. They do a lot of building for people who can really afford it! At the show, Ben was selling soap dishes, coasters, and key chains made from the stone leftovers. His mother made cell phone carriers from wool she gathered from their sheep. She also confessed a love for buttons and had many interesting items made from old buttons. The patriarch of the family was hand engraving custom key chains. They also provided stones for children to play with and entertain themselves. They were an interesting family!








In the past, Sonja and Kristi have held a bi-annual event called "Hodge Podge". Their booth offered a lot of recycled, re-invented, and re-purposed items. I bought a long, narrow basket full of greenery for my front door. It also had a Christmas ribbon and was adorned with an old rusty buckle. When I got home, Sam's comment was "You like rust, don't you Mom?". Yes, son, I do!!!

Holiday Hunt also had many more booths ranging from prints, ceramics, home baked goods, purses, baby items, and much, much more. Sonja said they were already making plans for next year's Holiday Hunt! I'll be looking forward to it!!!

C.J.'s Barn

This little red barn is like a sentinel waiting to greet me every time I reach the south edge of my small hometown. It belongs to C.J., a long-time friend of my family. I love the view of the bottom land sprawled out behind it. I also love the fact that it is a RED barn! Sadly more and more barns are being torn down, which makes the remaining ones even more special. Morton buildings dot the landscape, and while I am sure they are functional, they lack the personality and charm of old-fashioned barns. I can easily see in my mind's eye a farmer headed to the barn to do chore in the early morning light.





On this particular day, I decided to visit the barn instead of just driving by. I wanted to drink in the view, to savour the beauty and the smells of the scene on a beautiful Fall day. I needed to stop and show my appreciation to the ordinariness of a small barn on an ordinary day in my ordinary life.






I was rewarded with another treat. I hadn't been up close to the little wash house in a long time and had forgotten all about it. The tiny little structure is trimmed with gingerbread. It's front door is intricate and the glass window it a complex etching. We certainly don't see buildings like this anymore. All this detail for a wash house!!!






Even the wood stacked between the trees had it's own visual appeal and conjured up images of a warm fire. I could almost smell the wood smoke.





So maybe it isn't just about learning to appreciate what is ordinary in our lives, but finding the EXTRAORDINARY that lies in the ordinariness of our lives!

Blog...What Blog????

For those of you who have been kind enough to notice, I have been absent for awhile. This disappearing act can be attributed to a myriad of circumstances. During my absence I have been having an internal debate on whether I should continue. I've decided I want to go forward with my little project. So... I'm baaacckk!!!

I originally started blogging after becoming a fan of Pioneer Woman, who is probably THE most well known blogger. Being somewhat of a negative person, I was impressed with how she took her, well frankly, pretty ordinary life, scrutinized it, photographed it, wrote about it and suddenly, it became an extraordinary life. Because everyone's life IS extraordinary!!! We've just become so busy we don't take the time to realize each and every one of us has an extraordinary life in it's own way. Life isn't about the big things, which are few and far between. It's about appreciating the little, everyday moments! And so I started to see how even my ordinary life does have it's special moments. Blogging also gives me a chance to let some creativity flow. When I write about my small adventures it forces me to appreciate the normal life I have and be thankful! It makes me realize I have a very full life!

So as I go forward, I would like to see my blog become more interactive. That means I would like someone to comment besides my sister!!! Please, become a follower and give me some feedback!!!

To celebrate my return, I will be having a "give away" contest in a few weeks! I'll give everyone a chance to realize I'm back and join me on my journey. Trust me, you won't want to miss my "give away". It's a good one!!!

Daytripping in Des Moines at Penzey's

Penzey's Spices, above, below Sam being somewhat patient in front of the sea salt display.

Recently, Mom, Sam, and I headed North for a couple of days, just to say we'd been somewhere! Actually, we went to visit my cousins and do all the fun things I love to do when I'm in Des Moines, which isn't as often as I'd like. So hang on, the next few blogs will feature what we do when we hang out in Des Moines. After all, there is no commercial that says "What happens in Des Moines, stays in Des Moines. (And c'mon, Mom and my 10 year old son were with me!!!)

I have this list of things I have to buy when I go to Des Moines. Hostas, orange almond creme cake, hostas, chocolate raspberry jam, hostas, and Snookies Ice Cream. This year I've also added quilt stores, since I've started thinking about sewing again!

Mom and Jan found what they were looking for...and then some!

Our first stop was Penzey's Spices. Last year, Jan introduced us to Northwoods Fire Seasoning and we were instantly hooked. We've had to resort to ordering from Penzey's catalog and we were ready to see the real deal. Of course, it had everything the catalog has, but there were SAMPLES here!!! We loaded up on Northwoods Fire, Southwest Seasoning, cocoa, vanilla sugar... well, you get the picture. I tried not to spend all my money on the first stop. I made mental notes of what I'd have to have next time! Sam endured it well. It's not easy being stuck in a spice store with Mom, Grandma, and the cousins. But even Sam highly endorses Northwoods Fire on hamburgers on the grill!!! Although, not as highly as he recommends Snookies' ice cream!

Cousin Belinda found something she needed. What's nice about Penzey's is they offer everything in several sizes.

Me, grinning like an idiot, because I drag everybody to the places I want to go. I'm lucky though, because they want to go to the same places! Or at least they pretend to and Sam doesn't get a choice. There are some advantages to being the adult!

New Plant Species Discovered

Oh, I'm just kidding. This is our cat, Mena. Sam found her up in a tree in our yard over a year ago. She was very young, but had had a litter of kittens. Unfortunately, we were never able to find her kittens. Of course, Sam wanted to adopt her and so she became a member of the family. I like to drink my coffee on the patio where this pot of dirt sits waiting for flowers. Mena likes to hop into the pot, curl up, and take a nap. Silly cat! She really has turned out to be a good cat. I like to think she chases all the snakes in my yard into the neighbor's yard!!!

Allium Bulbs

I admit it, I don't know beans about bulbs. But at some point in my bleary past, it registered in my brain mush that allium bulbs turn into some pretty wayout looking "flowers???". "Flowers" just doesn't quite describe them. They're kind of alien looking. They remind me of the sputnik ornaments from the 1950's that were made to use on those shiny aluminum Christmas trees. Well, last fall, there I was in Target and I spied a package of allium bulbs from Smith and Hawken, half price, no less! How could I pass that up, I ask you??? I bought them, they sat around the house until almost winter. Whoa, I'd better get these suckers in the ground! At first I tried using a bulb planter. One hole, two holes, three holes...oh to hell with that. I just raked back a bunch of dirt and set the bulbs down then covered with dirt. Roots go down, roots go down. I figured I'd end up with them planted upside down. Alliums belong to the onion family, by the way. And the bulbs kind of look like onions. Then I waited through the doom and gloom of winter. Waiting....Waiting....Then one day sprouts!!!! Sprouts grew taller and taller. Then the blooms started to unfold. I know I should have taken pictures, like one a day so I'd have a time lapse thing going, but that didn't happen. What did happen are these gorgeous purple softball sized globes that are just awesome. Too bad I can't remember what kind of alliums they are, although "Purple Sensation" is forming out of my brain mush. I think there will be more alliums in my future. Try adding some to yours!!!

Creme Puff Cake

Valerie Bertinelli before Creme Puff Cake:

Creme Puff Cake

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

First let's make the crust! Or, rather, the puff!

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of flour

4 eggs

In a heavy saucepan heat water and butter over medium heat. When it starts to boil, turn down the heat and add the flour. Stir fast and furiously until the mixture forms a ball, pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Break and add eggs 1 AT A TIME. Make sure you completely mix egg in thoroughly before adding the next egg! Put puff stuff into an ungreased 9x13 UNGREASED pan. Use the back of the spoon or spatula to put batter up the side of the pan, while keeping an even layer on the bottom, forming a shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Keep an eye on it, because mine was puffed up and brown 10 minutes before it should have been. Cool....

Now for the pudding:

4 cups of milk

1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

3 boxes (3.5 oz.) INSTANT pudding mix

And last, but not least, a tub of Cool Whip

Use mixer to combine milk and cream cheese. Now add 3 boxes of instant pudding mix. You get to choose your flavor. I made this with vanilla pudding and took it to work and my co-workers nearly licked the pan clean. But then, they would eat chocolate covered dirt as long as somebody else made it and brought it in to work. Coconut Creme is also good, and you can never go wrong with good ole' reliable chocolate. Mom tried it with Banana Cream pudding and thought it tasted a little artificial. But you can roll however you want... Keep mixing until the pudding, milk, and cream cheese thickens. Pour the "creme" over the cooled "puff". Top it all off with a tub of Cool Whip. Cover and put it in the fridge, or what the hell, have a bowl full, then put it in the fridge!

Valerie Bertinelli after Creme Puff Cake:

Now, honestly, doesn't she look great? After her weight loss, I mean! Wow, to be 48 years old and looking that hot in a bikini on the cover of People magazine! I wonder if I'd look that hot if I lost weight. I'm going to ponder that over a bowl of Creme Puff Cake!!!!

One more thing...my Dad loved creme puffs. One time Dad and I had had a disagreement about something, I don't even remember what. He left, ticked off. He showed up later bearing creme puffs. Creme puffs are the best form of apology! Miss you, Dad!

Big and Little

My son, Sam, (that would be the toothless one on the right, smiling like only a ten year old boy can) has a Big Brother. That is Ryan, on the left, although since there are only two people in the picture you probably could have figured that out on your own. About a year ago I contacted the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization in our area to find someone for Sam. BBBS matches kids (littles) with adults (bigs) in order to provide a positive role model, friendship, and companionship for children in non-traditional settings. Sam and I were then contacted for a meeting in which the rules and expectations for BBBS were reviewed. Sam was able to communicate his hobbies and interests with the counselor who would then look for a suitible match for Sam. Since Sam is an only child and we live in a college town I was hoping they would be able to match Sam with a male college student. Then we had to wait. And I think we ended up waiting for several months before we were notified that a "Big" had been found for Sam. Apparently, more women volunteer than men so it takes longer to match boys. The program also does extensive interviews and background checks on potential volunteers. BBBS also asks for a one year commitment to the program from the volunteers to provide stability for the children.

Ryan has been great for Sam. What started out as a quiet and shy introduction has grown into, simply, two brothers hangin' out. In the fall they played football and went to the park. This winter it is all about video games. And McDonald's. And just doing what brothers do.

Ryan and Sam try to get together at least once a week for a few hours. Ryan calls Sam. Sam calls Ryan. Plans are made. Plans get changed when Ryan has a test, which offers me an opportunity

to point out to Sam that Ryan has to study just like he does. Only Ryan's Mother isn't there telling him he has homework!

For Christmas, Ryan gave Sam the first of a series of books called "The 39 Clues". (I would underline that title like I was taught if I could figure out how!) Sam is now on the third book and has figured out that reading can be a good thing. Something he didn't believe was possible when I told him that!

Sadly, for us, Ryan will be graduating the first of May and leaving Maryville. I have already ask BBBS for a new "big" for Sam, but no one will ever replace Ryan. I'm confident that between e-mail and texting they will be brothers for life!

I would highly recommend BBBS for anyone who is interested in finding a mentor for their child. It has been such a good experience for Sam. I would also love for more people who want to make a positive difference in a child's life to consider giving their time to such a worthwhile program as Big Brothers and Big Sisters!

Willow

Her name is Willow and she is one special little princess! She is the daughter of my niece, Blair. And she is my very first great-niece. She will be joined in June with my very first second great-niece when my niece, Jessica and fiancee Adrian, welcome their first child into the folds of the family. Yes, there will be more on that later!!!

But this post belongs to Willow, because on March 13th she turned one year old!!!

Sam's Hospital Gig

It started Wednesday night when I picked Sam up after work. He'd had a great time hanging out with his second cousin, Shelbie, and her friend Dan at the dorms on the campus at Northwest Missouri State University. He even thought he might be a little more interested in going to college someday. It had something to do with everybody being nice and the fact that Shelbie knew everyone.

On the way home he complained that his chest hurt. Well, of course it did. He had homework to do when we got there! Then came a complaint that his lungs hurt. Huh? Then the pain moved to his stomach. Yeah, sure, Sam. He's going for no homework AND a day off from school! My 10 year old drama queen kept it up the rest of the evening. And I did let him out of doing his homework. But he was carrying on just a little too much. And things just weren't quite adding up. No fever, no vomiting, no diarrhea. He couldn't sleep. We went from his bed to my bed to the couch and back again. By 2:00a.m. I called the emergency room. "Maybe it's bladder infection. Call the Doctor in the morning."

First thing the next morning I called the doctor's office. We wouldn't be able to see the doctor until 2:15 that afternoon. Sam continued to complain of pain in his lower abdomen and started walking stooped over. By afternoon he was running a temperature. He definitely did not want me pushing on his stomach.

We met with Dr. Watson and after examining him she decided a urine sample (his first and hopefully most time consuming), a blood workup, and an x-ray were in order. Low and behold, his white count was sky high. She suspected appendicitis, which didn't come as a big shock. Next we headed to meet with the surgeon who immediately put Sam in the hospital. Well, actually, we went straight to prep for surgery. Since Sam had eaten about 1:30, we had to wait 6 hours before they could anaesthetise him.

Unfortunately,at this moment in time, Sam remembered a history lesson. When I asked him if he knew what his appendix was he filled me in. "A body part we don't need, he said." And one of the men (He knew his name, but I've already forgotten it.) who traveled with Lewis and Clark on their expedition had died on the trip of appendicitis." And, therefore, Sam thought this could be his fate. I asked him how long ago Lewis and Clark had gone on their expedition. "Two hundred years ago" he replied. I assured him that there had been a lot of medical advances in the last two hundred years and that he would be just fine. Still, as my only child, my baby, who is at ten years old almost as tall as I am, was curled on my lap, face flushed from fever, with tears running down his cheeks, it was all I could do to keep it together.

It seemed like a lifetime before he was taken into surgery. But the nurses were wonderful to him. He got to choose his own surgical hat so he'd have one like the surgical staff. He chose one with Scooby Doo on it. The hats are hand sewn for the children by one of the nurses. When he got teary eyed again, the nurses showed up with a stuffed Curious George to comfort him. George was quickly donned with a surgical cap as well. George was provided by the Abrielle Neff Foundation. Abrielle was a pre-schooler who tragically lost her life in an auto accident a few years ago. The stuffed animal was a great comfort to Sam, as was the hat. Both provided diversions that he needed. I was touched by the generosity and thoughtfulness of the nurse that provided the hats and the Foundation. Ironically, when we walked into the hospital we walked past the local newpaper machine and Grandma and her sewing friends' picture was on the front page of the paper. They are sewing pillows to be given to children who have cancer at Camp Quality this summer. I guess what goes around does come around.

Sam made it through surgery without any complications. Everything about it was routine. He and George both had band aids to show as they were wheeled into Sam's room.

St. Francis Hospital has undergone many changes since Sam was born there a decade ago. A local man, Jimmy Jones, had generously left a donation to the hospital at his death. Jimmy was a famous horse trainer for Calumet Farms and had two horses who won the Triple Crown. The hospital has used the money to rennovate and add an addition. The rennovations were very, very, nice and Calumet Farms memoribilia filled a case. Huge pictures of the horses lined the walls. It is quite a tribute to a local celebrity.

Amazingly, Sam was released to go home the next morning. Grandma, who was with us through the ordeal, came home with us until both Sam and I recovered.

Thanks to Grandma, Dr. Watson, Dr. Charles, and all the nurses and staff at St. Francis, Sam and I are going to be just fine!