A day at a time.

Whew-whee but I'm in a funk! And not just any funk...a rotten-dead-skunk-funk. That's a stinky funk right there...

I try not to post too much doom-n-gloom on here...but truth is, that's just not real life...real life has it's own little dooms and glooms...and Lordy but I'm a'goin' through some right now...and I've never been much for faking it.

My mom has always told me to take things one day at a time..."don't borrow sorrow from tomorrow..." that was a big one growing up, she said it to me all of the time. Drove me nuts! Funny thing is...now it's my mantra.


There. I feel a little better now.

Truth is...this little stink pot is one of the only things gettin' me by...well, that and my momma...poor momma...I wonder how many phone calls a day she has been getting from me during the past few months? Poor momma.

Today was a discouraging day...reality can be a real stinker. And when someone hands you a giant stack O paperwork...and you realize that the past five years of your life have been reduced to the paperwork in your hands...you wanna kick some butt, that's all.

But then my little sugardoodle gives me her "toot-face"...

I gotta post pictures of the toot-face. It's a force to be reckoned with...it could win over a pms'ing snapping turtle who just stubbed her toe on the edge of a coffee table after hearing that her shell got towed 'cause she parked it in front of a hydrant.

...anywho, she gives me the toot-face and says "I WUV you mama-baby!" and I'll be darned if that doesn't make me feel better.

Stepping stones of comfort food.

In times of deep sorrow...I find immense peace in home made chocolate sauce. Never underestimate it's powers. It's like the nicotine patch for your soul, it doesn't cure anything...but it sure helps carry you through those hard times.

Whenever I'm stirring up a pan of chocolate sauce, I think about my mom. Standing at the old beige colored stove in our house, she would be stirring up a pan of chocolate sauce, usually at about 11:00 o'clock at night...then when it was done, we would pour it onto plates and eat it with our fingers.

Today was a bad day. In fact, it was a really bad day. Better yet, make that a monumental of horrid days. The kind of day that deserve their own little plaque that says: "Hey congratulations, ya big schmuck...you made it through this day...now, buck up, go to bed and get ready for tomorrow."

My life is about ready to take an entirely different turn, a scary, unfamiliar turn. A turn that makes me want to ruffle up my hair, rock back and forth, fiddle with my hands and mutter incoherently. This will reflect in my blog soon enough. But I'm not ready for all of that yet....so I'm going to show you pictures of cake instead.



It all starts here. The firm foundation known as angel food cake.



But we all know this is where it's at...the special sauce. Who knew butter, sugar, cocoa and vanilla could yield such beauty.



I like to overdue things. It's who I am...ALWAYS add clear vanilla extract to your home made whipped cream. The angels in your angel food cake will sing your praises.



Oh yeah baby...



Oh man...get in my belly. Half of it got in my belly...the other half had to wait...Isabella announced she needed to poo-poo and I had better HURRY or it was going to "get out"

Chocolate sauce after a toddler poop? Still tastes amazing.

A series of photos I like to call The Suburban Food Chain

Predator attempts to give off an aura of innocence.


"iz a very nize day today...yehz?"


Predator begins stalking prey.


Predator goes in for the kill.


Like a good gentleman...predator cleans himself.


"Yehz..I triez to eatz de feeshy...and de pointz?"

Gentleman predator missed lip-licking memo, it seems.


I am happy to report that Phineas the fish narrowly escaped certain peril by the skin of his phins-er...fins. He lives to die another day.

A Pioneer Dinner

Tonight I felt frisky. So I broke out my new best friend:

It's Ree! From Pioneer Woman


We're practically bff's...



See? Ok...so I didn't get to actually go to a book signing...but my Aunty Gaye-Gaye did! This cookbook was my favorite Christmas present this year. I've already cooked my way through half the book. And gained a few lbs in the process...



Chicken Spaghetti...I was skeptical...but I made it last night and took it to my hubby on the ship...he engulfed an entire Rubbermaid container full in a matter of five minutes.



We're pinchin' pennies in this household...so for dinner tonight we had the leftover Chicken Spaghetti...but I needed some sides to zest it up a bit, ya know? Well...PW never fails. I made the Ceaser Salad that was featured in yesterday's PW Cooks post...BEST Ceaser salad I have had in a long time.



I also decided to make the rolls that were featured in the same post. Holy Moley. I wish I hadn't. They were the perfect balance of buttery goodness and flavorful rosemary. I burnt the heck-fire out of my hand pullin' 'em out of the over though. I said a real bad word. (Been watching too much DeadWood)



Good thing my hand felt better in time for me to eat some of these Apple Dumplings...Also featured on same post. Call me unimaginative...or it could be PW just really knows how to put one heck of a meal together ;-)

I'll tell you one thing, though...I got one happy Hubby tonight, that's for sure.

98'th percentile for head size...all the better to perch hairbows on my dear!

Oh, how I love my little bean head....She'll grow into that gorgeous noggin of hers....I mean, I grew into mine...

Monkey see Monkey does...

A few weeks ago I enrolled my little monkey in a gymnastics class...my baby is in a class. A class. With a teacher and rules...my...my baby!

We've also been looking into some private pre-schools for her. Pre-school! I can't abide. it's too much.

Mind...cannot...comprehend.

I had better change the subject before I need to call my momma.

My monkey...she loves her class. She's still trying to get the hang of the whole listening-to-a -teacher-and-following-directions thing...but she gets a little better with every class. Her favorite part is swinging from the rings. She looks just like the Orangutans at the Honolulu Zoo.

My....baby....

It's cruel is what this is. Straight up cruel. I need some greasy food now.

Holy vintage lace batman!

I was lurking around one of my favorite thrifting haunts when I came across a wire rack of misc. textiles...they had various Ziploc bags crammed with odds and ends labeled "Buy one get one FREE" So, naturally I was all over that like white on rice...I figured I would spend 5 bucks and I was bound to come across something useful...holy moly spicy guacamole...I hit the mother-load!
I went home and eagerly un-stuffed my baggies discovering, to my delight, that I had literally hit vintage pay-dirt.

I admit...they have been spread out on the kitchen table for about a week now...every once in a while Isabella or I will wander over and sift through their wondrous fluffiness...dream a bit...then it's off again.

I think perhaps, that the best part of a good find, is the dreaming process, the planning of what you shall eventually use it for.