Real LOL

In case you don't know what Flair is - it is a little button with quotes, pictures, icons from your favorite movie or band, kind of like the ones I used to wear covering my denim jacket in high school and they are part of an application on Facebook. Today I saw one that said "Fact: 90% of people who type LOL are not in fact, laughing out loud." How true is that?
I told my friend Tina not long ago that I wanted to hear and share real laughter - not just read LOL referring to the predominance of my cyber-life. This week I have spent quite a bit of time laughing with my family. We have told jokes, kicked back, laughed about old times and made some terrifically awesome new memories. I wish I had more time in West Virginia to stay with my friends - but I am so unbelievably grateful that I have had this chance to get to know my family and be crazy about them all over again! We played Apples to Apples tonight - and in the middle of all the laughing we are creating inside jokes that we'll tell for years to come, pick on each other, and roll on the floor laughing together. I don't think about the "c" word, biopsies, financial strains or anything else. All my burdens are lifted in the fun and companionship of their love.

Photography Mosaic

I joined this yahoo group to learn some basics about photography, and although I do not have the greatest camera, I am hoping that I can learn a thing or two. As we've met people on the group and shared links to our blogs, I found this fun little game. It took a while to figure out - but I think the results were worth it. It was interesting to me that I gravitated to pictures with certain colors. I am really into black & white photography right now - and like reds. Oh - look the colors of my blog!



Here's how you play:
The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image. I picked the FIRST image ...
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's Mosaic Maker.

The Questions (with my answers):

1. What is your first name? Julie
2. What is your favorite food? Italian
3. What high school did you go to? Jefferson
4. What is your favorite color? Red-ish
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jeffrey Dean Morgan (if I indulged a crush!)
6. Favorite drink? Sweet tea
7. Dream vacation? The Badlands (with my family)
8. Favorite dessert? hot fudge cake (at the moment)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? screenwriter
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One word to describe you. open
12. Your flickr name. Jewlsntexas

It took a bit of time to figure out - you have to have a Flickr account, and you have to sign in. Also, some photographers can opt out of allowing the service. If you do post a mosaic, leave a comment here to let me know so I can come and take a peek!

Impromptu Christmas Eve Love

With about a jillion other things to do, on Christmas eve morning, I decided that all of my local friends and neighbors deserved a little lovin' from the oven. The idea was inspired by my friend Helen, who always made us iced cinnamon buns at Christmas time. I spent several hours making dough and filling and icing, and once warm plates were put together, loaded the kids up to make some deliveries. We only actually saw two families, but left the surprise for the rest in conspicuous spots to be found when the recipients returned home - hopefully that day and not a week later (that would definitely be a surprise - a plate of mold!). It was fun. We got phone calls and emails of thanks - but really - it was our pleasure!
The recipe was terrific. I got it from Marmee Dear's Bread Basket Cookbook. I know she won't mind if I share it here:

Marm's Cinnamon Buns

>Place the following ingredients in your mixer equipped with dough hook:
1 1/2 very warm water (110-120 degrees)
3 Tbsp dry milk powder
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 Tbsp yeast
>Mix on a low speed until combined then add in:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp sea salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
Unbleached, all purpose flour will be used in the next step.
Mix briefly then add, 1 cup at a time, approximately 6 more cups of unbleached all purpose flour. Add flour carefuly as the full 5 cups may not be needed. You want a soft, workable dough. Knead for 5 minutes on a medium speed. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 2 equal parts. Roll each part on the floured surface to a rectangle. Spread with soft butter and sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon. You may also cover cinnamon sugar mixture with chopped nuts and raisins if desired. Roll up tightly, beginning at wide side. Seal well by pinching edges together. Even up roll up by stretching slightly. Cut roll into 1 1/2 inch sections. (I do this with dental floss or sewing thread.) Place in greased baking pans, cut side up, with a small space between rolls. Use fingertips to even and flatten out rolls if they are uneven. Let rise until puffy. This should take about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Frost with icing while still warm.
ICING: Sift 2 cups confectioners sugar into a bowl and moisten with a little water or milk (I used half and half). Add a few drops of maple flavoring and stir until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls. Decorate rolls with extra nuts if desired.

My Recipe

Julie - 1/4 cup of loyalty - a gallon of charisma - 1 1/2 cups of cuteness Season and serve.

'What is your personality recipe?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I saw this on Kathleen's blog and Karen's blog -being that I love recipes - I just had to try it. Cuteness? I'll take it!
I am also pretty jazzed that Karen is back in the blogosphere!

Why I Haven't Blogged

There are lots of reasons I haven't blogged - laundry, dinner, dishes, schlepping daughter up and down the road, etc. But one fun reason was this video that I took the night before last and my daughter Kaitlyn and I put together for her sister of Kendra and her b-friend (still can't say it!) Michael. We had so much fun. If you are really sensitive - there are some parts you may think rude - so you may want to opt out of viewing - it was all done in fun! Michael comes with a PG-13 rating, and thinks himself a young Will Ferrell. And major kudos to Kaitlyn who taught me all about how to edit a video! Awesome blossom!

Pizza Night and a Superior Crust Recipe

I made three triple batches of pizza crust yesterday for the pizza/movie night. There were three stacks of crusts this size, and I decided to make two dessert pizzas at the last minute. They were pretty good and would've been even better had I remembered to set the timer on the oven! (They were baking while everybody was here.) Fortunately I had kitchen helpers for rolling out all that dough!
Last night was a total blast - kids were laughing and running around in the yard, on the trampoline, on the front porch, down the street, in and out of the house, and in every room - just the way I like it! The moms had a great time too getting a chance to visit amid the utter chaos. Having no agenda, most of the kids preferred to just hang out, while a handful opted to watch Night at the Museum. The worst part about the night was that it ended way too soon!
I promised to share the amazing recipe I found - with my adjustments. You can make a triple batch of the dough in a large kitchen mixer. The original of this recipe called for 3 ounces of oil per personal pizza crust - and after trying only half that amount, I just could NOT feed that greasy mess to my family - so I reduced it significantly. You can get a feel for how much you prefer.

Mock Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Crust

1 1/3 cup warm water (105 F)
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pkg dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
4 cups flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for dough)

For preparation:
2 - 3 Tbsp vegetable oil per pan (experiment with this and pour off excess)
2 Tbsp melted butter

Directions:
Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes by hand - or 3-5 minutes in a large kitchen mixer with a dough hook. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans, put 2 - 3 Tbsp. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin (I used my hands!), roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. Brush the outer edge of dough with melted butter. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
(To make pre-baked shells I baked them at about 450 for 7-10 minutes - then they were ready to be topped again and baked for about 10 more minutes.)

Pan Pizza Sauce

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt

To bake each 9" pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 475 F
2. Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge
3. Distribute 1 1/2 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce
4. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or ham, vegetables, meats
   
5. Top with 3 oz. mozzarella cheese
6. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown
   

Some of the gang on a Friday night!

Ice Cream for Breakfast

This weekend we hosted part of a Mexican themed "progressive dinner" that was hosted for the youth group at our new church. We were the first stop, and from here I was one of the drivers to the rest of the stops. Here is what was on the menu:

Appetizers: stuffed jalapenos, chicken taquitos, taco dip, homemade tortilla chips, salsa, and salsa with sour cream

Salad: taco salad

Main course: Fajitas (chicken, steak or beef) with all the fixins, refried beans, and Spanish rice

Dessert: Fried ice cream

After the whole day of eating, we went to an older lady’s house for a bonfire and hot dogs with marshmallows. WAAAYYYY too much food. My kids and I had never had the fried ice cream the way they made it though, and we all loved it. It was easy to make too so I thought during the Ultimate Blog Party I would share the recipe – which is so simple it’s not really even a recipe – with you so you could enjoy it too.

Simple Fried Ice Cream

Small tortillas
Butter
Cinnamon & Sugar
Vanilla Ice Cream

Melt butter and fry one side of tortilla lightly. Flip tortilla and add a generous amount of cinnamon & sugar. Cook lightly – you want the tortilla to be soft. In warm tortilla add one scoop of ice cream to cinnamon & sugar side – and wrap. Eat up!

It works best if the ice cream is as hard as possible – that way it is less messy. Regardless – it is messy but it is worth it.

I made these for my kids for breakfast this morning! What a fun treat! It can't have any more sugar than cereal or a pop tart which is what 90% of American children ate this morning!