Sunday, February 21, 2010

One of Those Weeks

In a previous post, I've written about my faux family, and the various relationships. This week, C, my 'younger' faux brother had a heart attack. He's only 47. It was his week with his kids, they're out of school for break, and we've taken turns being with them, trying to keep them entertained, and not worried. He's in the hospital, recovering, progressing. I'm not as worried about him as I was earlier. He's going to recover, and that's a relief! His girls are doing well, I think. They're in touch by sending texts, video shorts, and connecting directly with him through his phone. Technology is a marvel. They're not allowed to visit. Since the swine flu, H1N1, the hospital has restricted any visitors under 18. They are able to communicate with him constantly, so he's not bored and up-to-date on their daily happenings. Thursday, we got pizza and watched TV and just hung out. Last night they spent with some cousins sleeping over, and today we baked! WE made rainbow cupcakes, from a Disney magazine recipe. Iced and plain brownies. Then, we got creative! We bought a giant container of pretzel rods, melted tollhouse morsels, dipped the pretzels into the chocolate and then rolled them in treats! We rolled them in CocoCrispies, coconut, mini kisses, mini M&M's, mini marshmallows, sprinkles (jimmies), and crushed up Captain Crunch! (Not all at once, but oh my, these were good). We made enough for us to sample, to send a box to the hospital for his visitors and nurses, and to bring 50 or so to a church event tonight. Easy to make, and everyone seemed to enjoy snacking on them !
Plans for tomorrow include breakfast out, and a movie madness day....we'll watch a bunch of videos in a row, I'll write more when life calms down! MC

Saturday, February 13, 2010

New Toys....New Toys

I had dinner last night with a niece, newly graduated from college with a degree in Nursing, her boyfriend, and his sister. I'm about 25 years older than them, but I have such a delightful time when included in their fun! The girls and I met at a nail salon. In our area, there's one on every corner of a main block, it seems. We got mani's, I got a pedi (old feet NEED them) and the boyfriend watched amused. They graciously accompanied me on a brief 2 block walk to drop in on a great nephew, the 5 year old....who wanted us to visit for a minute so he could tell us about his day at school. Conversation never lagged during dinner, and when we were about to go, I asked for directions to the new Walmart that had been built about 5 towns away. (Yep, it's the ONLY one in the County). We're not deprived, we have every other store/mall imaginable. Just not a Walmart. Well, I have been cooking up a storm lately, and wishing I had some basic tools I see in magazines, other peoples blogs, etc. I bravely whipped out a credit card and took the leap into the 21st Century of Cooking. I bought a stand mixer (with the dough hooks) AND a food processor. Yep, I didn't go nuts and get the Kitchen Aid I lust after every time Pioneer Woman posts a pic on her blog, but I'm happy with the Sunbeam. and I did get both for under $150, so I won't be going into debt (grin).

I promised to make a few cakes for a Church supper tomorrow night, so I am raring to open the boxes and get mixing! I just wanted to take a few minutes and catch up here first.
What's your favorite kitchen 'toy' and what do you make with it? MC