Have I mentioned I’m pregnant?

Categories: The Daily Grind | June 24th, 2009 | by happilybarefoot | no comments

Haha… look at me, blog neglecting again. My bad.

I haven’t done a real update in a long, long time.

How about a super fast version?

- I’m pregnant - due mid-November. Planning another homebirth.

- The kids are HUGE. D turned 3 in March, and N will be 2 in Sept.

- I’m doing a huge garden this year

- We are going up north on vacation next month

- We got a small pool

- We painted the deck

Maybe I’ll take some time to do a real entry later this week.

My favorite hat

Categories: Sewing | March 4th, 2009 | by happilybarefoot | 3 comments

I crocheted myself a new hat this winter! I LOVE it!

One of these days I’ll get around to adding a button to the center of the flower too

Pattern is the Nubby Brim Cloche.

The Toddler Photographer

Categories: Snapshots | February 16th, 2009 | by happilybarefoot | 5 comments

In an effort to break the blogging mind block I have had lately, I’m going to switch things up a bit.

This summer we gave our son one of those kid safe cameras - it took him a few months to figure it out, but now he loves taking photographs of everything. So every Monday I am going to try and include a selection of photographs he took that week. We always get a good laugh when we upload them to the computer, he captures the funniest things. (I asked him to come name each one LOL)

“Mama”

“That’s A Light”

“Nova”

“That is me, I’m Draven”

“Oh, that’s my tractor trailer!”

“Daddy! *laughs like a maniac*”

Not My Mama’s Pasta Salad

Categories: Other Stuff | February 10th, 2009 | by happilybarefoot | one comments

I’m totally blushing over here after recieving an honerable mention in Noble Pig’s Super Bowl recipe contest. I figured I had better post this recipe since I have been getting so many hits from her website!

I’ll be sure to get some photos the next time I make up a batch too!

Not My Mama’s Pasta Salad

My mom has always served an amazing pasta salad that everyone loves. When I started copying her recipe, I slowly made it more my own each time. I am now at the point where they are totally different recipes. This is a great crowd pleasing dish, and no matter how much I make there are never any leftovers! Even my mom likes it!

2 10-12oz boxes Whole Wheat Rotini, cooked and cooled

2 bottles Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

1 bottle Catalina Dressing (I use a HFCS-free organic variety)

½ of a 12oz bag broccoli slaw, roughly chopped (I usually do this by eye, add more if you think it needs it)

3 small roma tomatoes, seeded (if needed) and chopped

1 small can sliced olives

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except for dressings in a large bowl. Pour in ¾ of a bottle of the Sun Dried Tomato dressing and ¼ of a bottle of the Catalina dressing and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning mix the remaining dressings together. Add more to the salad as needed before serving – salad should be wet, but not soupy!

Sushi! It’s easy, frugal & yummy!

Categories: Cooking | January 6th, 2009 | by happilybarefoot | 10 comments

On any given day, I could eat my weight in sushi. Now, I’m no sushi snob… I will throw anything into a sushi roll, so if you are looking for painstaking tutorials and how-tos for sashimi and Iron Chef type offerings, it’s best to continue on to google.

For the newcomers to sushi - ’sushi’ DOES NOT mean ‘raw fish’. It doesn’t. I PROMISE. Sushi refers to the vinegared rice used in sushi rolls. Really, seriously, it does. I wouldn’t lie to you. Please, if you don’t believe me - google it.

Moving on.

There are a few must have items for sushi making. Some websites will tell you that you need all this specialized equipment. You don’t. I mean, sure it would be nice to have a proper bamboo mat or sushi oke, but it’s really not a requirement if you cannot find these things where you live and don’t want to order them.

Things *I* need to make sushi:
Short grain rice (it usually says sushi rice on it) - No, you can not use regular old rice. I’m sorry.
A rice cooker - No, *you* may not need it to make sushi. I do. I burn rice on the stove top.
A rice paddle - My rice cooker came with one
Nori - Seaweed sheets (it’s really not as gross as it sounds, they are quite good actually)
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sugar
Salt
Fillings
Some sort of mat - I’m currently using a bamboo place mat I found on sale
plastic wrap
Soy Sauce

Optional but yummy:
Sushi Ginger
Wasabi

Okay! I think that’s it! I know, it sounds like a lot… and a lot of things doesn’t usually mean frugal. BUT, many of these things (rice, mat, vinegar, the mat, soy sauce, ginger, wasabi.. etc) are multi use items, have a long shelf life and do not need to be bought every time.

First, the rice. This is the recipe I use. (Just ignore that little tidbit about a oke being the best thing for stirring rice - use a big fricken mixing bow like I do and you will be just fine).

Fillings - I use all sorts of different things as sushi fillings. Almost always grated carrot and cucumber. Sometimes I throw in some fake crab or even some chicken! I usually try to make sushi at the end of the week and incorporate that week’s leftover veggies into it. A few days ago we had some friends visit and they wanted me to show them to make sushi. They brought fake crab, avocado and cream cheese, so that is what I’m using in my example.

(I’m sorry, I have no photos of this step of the process…)
Assemble left to right:
Bowl of sushi rice, small bowl of water, cutting board, sushi fillings, SHARP knife, plate

Here we have on top of the cutting board: the “bamboo mat” with a layer of plastic wrap on top of it, and a sheet of nori on top of that.

Then you wet your fingers in the bowl of water and grab yourself a ball of rice and spread it on the nori, leaving a blank space up along the top. Re-wet your hands each time you dip into the rice bowl. This prevents the rice from sticking to your hands and making you crazy. (I seriously used WAY too much rice here… I was in a rush to get all of these photos done before I lost the sunlight)

(Okay, I know, I’m sorry, these photos are much too bright) Place your ingredients in the center of the rice - in this case fake crab, avocado & cream cheese.

Then you are going to scoot everything to the edge of the “bamboo mat”.

And start to roll - you want to keep everything as tight as possible, so when you roll, use the tips of your fingers to tuck in your filling and keep it where you want it.

You will want to use two hands while rolling… I was operating a camera.

Now, when you get to this little naked piece of nori, you will want to wet your fingers slightly and get this part wet - you want it to stick to the rest of the roll when you finish rolling.

Then you finish the roll by lifting up the mat slightly (so you don’t roll it into the sushi - not yummy!)

Now, you want to press down firmly on the roll.

And then you have a finished sushi roll!

Move your “sushi mat” out of the way and put your roll on the cutting board and cut in half.

Then cut each half in half.

And again. My end pieces always look crappy. (And I totally use that as an excuse to eat them before they ever make it to the table.

Mmmmm…. Sushi!

You can honestly put ANYTHING you want into a sushi roll. I personally love a can of tuna mixed with a tablespoon or two of mayo and 1/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper with a few strips of cucumber or shredded carrot.

Now you can dip the sushi in soy sauce, or soy sauce with a bit of wasabi mixed in. You can top each piece with sushi ginger or eat it between rolls (or leave all of it out! I often like naked sushi )

I hope you’ll give sushi a try! Even if it is with a piece of BBQ chicken in the middle!

Biscuits & Gravy! Happy New Year!

Categories: Cooking, Snapshots | January 1st, 2009 | by happilybarefoot | no comments

My husband sent D over with his big ol puppy dog eyes to ask for biscuits and gravy for breakfast. How could I say no to that?

N particularly enjoyed them.

As I was uploading these pictures, she also rubbed some into her hair. Fun times.

“Hey, do you still write?”

Categories: Other Stuff | December 29th, 2008 | by happilybarefoot | 2 comments

Whenever I run into someone from high school, this is always one of the first things I am asked. The first few times it really threw me for a loop. Write? Write what? When did I write?

I guess I looked confused too, because I generally got a “Um, you used to write a lot. Like poetry and stuff.”

I did?

Yeah, I guess I did.

And then they chuckle about Felix. Then it all comes flooding back.

You see, I had this folder. It had Felix the cat on it. I called it Felix. Like as in Where’s Felix? or Hang on, let me grab Felix. Everyone knew what I was talking about. Felix had all of my poetry in it and was pretty much a limb of mine for the better part of two years. He might even be around here somewhere.

I wrote. A lot. About anything, everything and nothing at all. Poetry, short stories, long stories - I even penned a novel or two. Nothing spectacular - I assure you. It was my outlet, and my release.

This all popped into my head the other day - heck, I had even planned on majoring in English at one point. (As soon as someone managed to teach me proper grammar and spelling, that is) I am sort of horrified at how quickly something that was such a huge part of my life just sort of vanished. Okay, thinking back, I know exactly how it came to be that I stopped writing. What I don’t understand is how I allowed it to happen.

Maybe it was a phase. I’ve sat down a few times to write. I totally and completely blanked out. Then I feel guilty - that I wasted my “talent”. (I just never saw it as a talent - I don’t think I was particularly good at it - it’s just what I did.)

It’s not like I’m lacking for hobbies these days - I don’t need to take up writing too!

New Year’s Resolution x3

Categories: Other Stuff | December 27th, 2008 | by happilybarefoot | no comments

• Work on a Sewing/Crochet/Craft project every day.
• Take at least one photo per day.
• Blog here or at Happily Frugal at least once per day.

I’ve never been one to make resolutions, and certaintly not three of them! Maybe I just didn’t have anything important to resolve.

I think these are reasonable expectations of myself, we’ll see how it goes.

Our Beautiful New Site!

Categories: Other Stuff | December 26th, 2008 | by happilybarefoot | 2 comments

Cynthia does it again!! Isn’t my blog beautiful!?

Thank you, Cynthia! It is PERFECTION!

I’m Still Here!

Categories: Snapshots, The Daily Grind, Visiting | December 13th, 2008 | by happilybarefoot | one comments

I’ve been busy obsessing about our no-spend year, and have totally neglected my regular blog. *hangs head in shame*

My dear girl enjoying her Thanksgiving dinner with her handsome daddy!

N started walking last month and now I officially have two toddlers. Life has become hectic. Fun. But hectic. She’s coming into her own little personality and she is just hilarious. She loves music, loves to dance, and her newest accomplishment is pointing and yelling “What’s THAT?!” at everything she sees.

She had her first head injury earlier this month, two in fact, on the same day. She tripped and went forehead first into a couple of walls. She’s okay, and thanks to D doing the very same thing at the same time last year we didn’t go dashing to the emergency room. She’s totally healed now.

D’s ’silly face’

D’s vocabulary is exploding by leaps and bounds these days. I cannot get over how well he talks (not that anyone else would know - he is still very shy) He dotes on his little sister, he loves to read her books and show her his toys (as long as she doesn’t touch them!)

He LOVES his Hot Wheels cars and plays with them constantly. He is always parking them and driving them around. He is an affectionate and very cuddly boy, and is starting to notice other people’s feelings a lot more.

I have been trying to find the time to sew and craft, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. I have been getting back into crocheting, which is easier to find time to do, I think.

And here’s a “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” to everyone if I don’t manage another blog post