The ABCs of Me

I've seen this in a couple of different blog posts and I thought it would be fun to do...

A- Age: 36.

B- Bed size: Queen.  I want to size up but my husband doesn't want to pay for new bedding AND he things I'll be a bed-hog in a King too.

C- Chore you hate: Folding and putting away the laundry.  Especially sheets!

D- Dog's name: No dogs.  But we have three cats and three goats!  Cats: Buddy, Taffy and Caramel.  Goats: Maize, Daisy and Henrietta.  We had a Charlie too but he got sick and the vet put him down yesterday.  RIP Charlie.

E- Essential food/item: CHOCOLATE!

F- Favorite color: Of all time?  Orange.  Favorite color today?  Red

G- Gold or silver: Gold

H- Height: 5'4"

I- I am: patiently waiting for Spring!

J- Job: Mama, wife, technical writer/system tester

K- Kids: 1 My Punkie Pie!

L- Living arrangements: In a home built by my husband waaaaaay before he met me.  Needs more closets and storage areas.  But it's in the quiet country and I love it.  I can't see my neighbors in the summertime.  I like it!

M-Mom's name: Wanda, Mom or Babci.  Depends on who is talking to her.

N- Nickname: Jen.  Jennifer reminds of me when I got in trouble in school.  I don't like hearing it.

O- Overnight hospital stay: Once.

P- Pet peeve: I have many.  Biggest one is people on the phone while driving

Q- Quote from a movie: Easiest one I can think of right now "There's no place like home!  There's no place like home!"

R- Right or left handed: Right

S- Siblings: Brother.  Younger by 3 years almost to the day.  We're 3 years and 5 days apart

T- Time you wake up: depends on the day.  But I'm up normally by 6:30 a.m.

U- Unique thing about your car: Uh.  Nothing.  Just a car that really needs to be washed inside and out!

V- Vegetable you hate: PEAS.  Demon veggie.

W- Ways you run late: I have a 4 year old with a schedule of her own.  But I really try to start the leaving process early so I'm not TOO late.

X- X-rays you've had: Never had one

Y- Yummy food you make: brownies, sweets... pretty much everything I make is yummy.  LOL!  I kid!

Z- Zoo favorite: No real fave.  Maybe the monkeys
 
So that's that.  I'm sure you wanted to know all that.  LOL.
 
Enjoy your night!
Jen :)

OOOOOO! I can't wait to bust it open!

Oh. I got one. Delivered yesterday...I can't WAIT to open it! Well, I have opened it and peeked at a few of the fabric squares. I already have my list of fabrics that I want to get in bulk once they are available next year.

I think I need another. Just to look at.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Let's Go to the Big E!

On the last Friday of September, we all played hooky (work and school) and spent the day at the Big E. It's a big fair in Massachusetts and we had a great time. We kept it a secret from Amelia and we picked up my mom at work on the way (Punkie was REALLY surprised with that one) and away we went.

Walked around and saw all the vendors, ate fair food and rode the rides. Here are some pictures from our day out.

Amelia rode these motorcycles and every time she went by us, she would lean way over and yell "I'm flying!"


Flying a helicopter.

The kiddie swings...

A pony...

The carosel with Daddy....

And the highlight of the day? Taking a ride down the GIANT slide with Daddy! She LOVED it and wanted to do it again.

It was a good day. :)

Don't forget to enter my Celebration giveaway. You have a couple more days to leave a comment! I've been collecting. Should be a good giveaway prize.

Enjoy your day!

Jen

Please don't judge me too harshly

You'll never guess what I did yesterday. Never guess. HA. I should make a contest out of it but to be fair, I won't.

I took yesterday off from work and got together with my 2 closest cousins and we went to a taping of the Jerry Springer show! I know, I know. One of the worst "talk shows" (if you can call it that) out there but we went. One of my cousins got tickets on a whim and asked if we would go with her. Why not? It was something to do together minus kids and we got to hang out for a little while. The JS show recently moved their studios to Connecticut; along with The Maury Povich show and Deal or No Deal - so we didn't have to travel far.

The show? Well, we three found it pretty lame. Jerry is a dirty old man. LOL. But it was entertaining for a couple of hours. The show may or may not air. We'll have to see. Our vote was that it won't air because it just didn't have enough "action" as most of his shows do. Some pushing, some shoving, some fists flew, some hair pulling but it was tame. VERY scripted.

It was a LOT of work being in that audience! We were told when to cheer, when to boo, when to chant Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! When we left the studio, I was parched and exhausted. LOL.

We hit some traffic heading back home so we detoured to Norwalk and found Stew Leonard's and did a little shopping and had lunch. Marsha? Did you hear me shouting for you on the streets of Norwalk? LOL!!

So like I said, don't judge me too harshly. But if the show DOES air, I'll let you know when so that you can find me in the audience! LOL!

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Sugar Cookie Recipe

BQS (before quilting (&) sewing), I was very much into cookie and cupcake decorating as a hobby. But then I realized that someone needed to EAT all the goodies so I found another hobby... quilting and sewing. LOL.

Marsha asked me to post the sugar cookie recipe that I used for the sugar cookie crosses that I made. I forgot where I got this recipe so I don't know who to give credit too but the recipe is great for cut-out sugar cookies. AND this dough can be frozen. Bonus when you have lots of cookies to do. You can make the dough ahead of time, freeze it and use when needed. I have frozen my cut-outs, my flattened rolled out discs of dough AND my baked cookies. I'm all about saving time when it comes to sugar cookies as they take a LOT of time to decorate.

Couple of tips....
- well, I listed my first tip above. Freezing my dough.
- I bake frozen as well. At 325'F for a few extra minutes
- I roll my cookies to 1/4 inch OR 3/8 inch. Depends on my mood and how many cookies I have to make. If I have to make a lot, 1/4 inch to make use of all the dough. Not so many cookies? 3/8 inch.
- I roll my dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper using wooden dowels that I bought at the hardware store cut in half. I think the wooden dowels work better than the rolling pin spacers. AND they are much cheaper.

Okay - recipe time. Please note that the whole recipe can make up to 5 dozen, 3" cut out cookies. If you don't need that much, the recipe can be cut in half very easily.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter (I use 1/2 unsalted butter-1/2 salt for the flavor. The recipe seems a bit bland without it).
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla (I use 1/2 vanilla - 1/2 almond. I have also make orange flavored sugar cookies, lemon flavored and strawberry flavored by using different extracts or flavorings but make sure you use 1 tsp. vanilla. The cookies taste better).
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (I usually roll out my dough and place the flattened pieces in the fridge. Once I'm done with all the dough, the first piece is ready for cut outs and baking).

Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet (I bake on parchment) at 350'F for 8 to 1o minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. Cool on cooling racks before decorating.

That's it. It's a great cookie recipe. I hope you get a chance to make some.

Jen

Go On Over and Say Hi!

Sinta (pink pincushion) has started her very own blog today! She was my secret gift giver for the Polka Dot and Ric Rac swap that Sharon hosted a while back. So go and over and say hello. I'm sure she would love it. You know how we love blog comments!

Welcome to the madness Sinta! It can be really addicting!

Jen

Top 100 Things to Do...

I found this list out on Vickie's blog and I thought I would play along too. I've done 39 things listed over my lifetime so far. How many have you done?

1. Touched an iceberg - Not touched an iceberg but I saw one up close and walked on a glacier. I went to Alaska on my honeymoon...

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been a part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby's diaper

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula

10. Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped (A lot more scary than Sky diving)

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise

15. Seen the Northern lights

16. Gone to a huge sports game

17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - during my cousin's wedding ceremony

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

33. Adopted an accent for fun

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - my mom and dad were both born and raised in Poland. I was there for a month one summer

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach

41. Gone sky diving

42. Visited Ireland

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files

48. Ever worn a superhero costume

49. Sung karaoke

50. Lounged around in bed all day

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don't

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Been in a movie

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest - when I was 8. Does that still count??

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone

67. Bounced a check

68. Read - and understood - your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

70. Found out something significant about your ancestors

71. Called or written your Congress person

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone

78. Ridden a motorcycle

79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read The Bible cover to cover

86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions

88. Gone back to school

89. Changed your name

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes

92. Read The Iliad

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fishing and deer hunting)

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office

98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)