Saturday night at the movies.

What a week, completely uneventfull, yet things seem to fly by tickety boo. I seem to have encountered a little bit of writers block, many of my thoughts during the day start out with phrases like "I should blog about that..." or "that would be funny to put on my blog", yet once I sit myself down after all the chores are done, I can barely muster the energy or creativity to write anything. Nevertheless, tonite I must put an end to the quiet, I will write.. creative or boring, drivel or schmivel, I will put a few thoughts into words, really... just for posterity sake. In true Bonnie form, I thought I should write a list although today my list is going to be completely random, hopefully it will give me direction for my blogging future, I can't bear to post another recipie.. besides tonites dinner was a big failure... but I'll get to that later.

Bonnie's top 10 random list of what is going on in her head while the kids are watching a movie we just rented at blockbuster.

1. Taylor just got her first job and we are SOOOO proud of her. I think she has recieved "the lecture" about working hard, staying busy and giving it your hundred and ten percent, about a million times. Each time I get the same exasperated response... teenage eyeroll, followed by teenage hand on the hip, followed by "I know mom!!!" "well, I'm just sayin'!" She is working at Dairy Queen, and day one was a huge success, I'd say it's a close second to the bakery, icecream, chocolate, burgers, and fries... I think I should spy on her often.
2. Why did we just start watching a movie at 10pm... I'm a bad mother.
3. Ben asked to go to sunday school tomorrow... not got coerced into it, not got bribed into it... really asked... of course it's the same sunday Taylor is "running for the cure".. why are things always so complicated, and why did my "Jones soda" say "Now is the time to set priorities"... what are they trying to say????
4. Why do I keep exploding over nothing??? I'm pretty sure it wasn't a personal insult when someone left a cup in the sink, nor did they mean to scorn me when they started arguing... my fuse is as short as... well... me! Crazy! a 5ft. 2 fuse, ridiculous.
5. Does anyone know how much I loveeeeee a kid snuggle?
6. Why did our dinner which I meticulously planned... Mahogany Beef stew, horseradish mashed potatoes, salad and garlic cheese buns, taste like cakapooy? I was pretty excited I cooked with wine and parsnips, I even used wine from Chile, because I figured Chilli and Stew are kind of similar... guess not, it sucked!
7. Why has J worked for 36 hours straight two times this week between taxi and ambulance... I love J, I miss him!
8. Ben says "do you know what fantastic 4 is about?" I think they might be wasp fighting maniacs. Ben stepped into a wasp's nest this week and got horribly stung. Luckily he recovered quickly .. physically, that is. As for the fact that he runs screaming everytime he sees a flying "bug"... I hope the trauma abates soon!
9. I'm reading a book called "A good house" Sometimes I feel like my house is good... other times, I'm not so sure... family and life is hard work!
10. At the bakery yesterday we made 2 salads for 100ppl, fried mushrooms, onions and fresh tomatoes, and lettuce all for 100ppl, and Dressing for a turkey dinner for 500ppl. I love turkey, I'm pretty excited about thanksgiving next weekend!
11. Mom and dad arrive home from their big vacation this week, I really miss them!
12. I guess I'm over 10 on my list now, so I'm going to snuggle under my flannel blanket and read myself into peacefull slumber... gnite! by the way, does anyone want some leftover "mahogany stew" ????

Harvest Poatao and Corn Chowder

So, here it is, the Recipie you've been waiting for! (tee hee!)

1/2 pkg. bacon chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic
Fry the above in some olive oil and then add all the ingredients into the crock pot.

2 potatoes, chopped bite size
4 c frozen corn
4 c chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
a few splashes of hot sauce
a sprinkle of dried red pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Let this mixture simmer in your crockpot for 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high, until vegetables are soft and soup is bubbly.
In a saucepan, over medium-high heat,melt 2 tsp butter, add 2 Tbsp flour and stir to make a smooth paste. Slowly add 1 can evaporated milk,whisking constantly to combine. Bring mixture from heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese of your choice until completely melted. Gradually stir milk sauce mixture into slow cooker.
Cover and cook on High for 20-30 min longer. Serve garnished with additional cheese and parsley.

We had some fresh Scotch Baps with this, it was yummy!

Hope you enjoy on a soup day. I hope i haven't jinxed things cause the sun is coming out here!

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

So, the other day I put a pot of soup in the crockpot. Anyone who knows me (in real life) knows that I have a bit of an obsession with my crockpot. Since I work early, it is really handy for me to throw it in the pot in the morning and know that if I don't get home till 4:30 or 5, Jamie can still have dinner on the table before he leaves for work. Also, I love cookbooks. My friend Stacey, being the fantastic gal that she is, found me a cookbook the other day called 300 slow cooker favorites.... I know, isn't it amazing. Anyhow, back to the soup:
Harvest Corn Chowder with Bacon and Cheddar - recipie to follow later, momentarily, I am late for work (shocking, I know!) Anyow, my point was... I put soup in the crockpot, and I walked outside and.... It was snowing.... much to my dismay, until I remembered, it was a soup day... well, that put things into perspective for me. It all came up roses because everytime I looked out the window at that september snow (argh!) I could remember that I was going home to a bubbling cauldron of yummy proportions. Now, we're back to "normal" temperatures and I'm off to face another day.. tonite, when I'm not pushing my luck, I'll post ya' the recipie. So, off I run to work and wish everyone out there in cyberland a happy, not so snowy, yummy day...

What happens in Vegas.... :-)

So, now that I am fully recovered from my whirlwind trip to Vegas I want to write about it so that I remember every detail!!!
Saturday night upon our arrival from a perfectly uneventful flight... I didn't even get strip searched... Geez, what does a girl have to do to have a little fun at the border??? (teehee - just joking!!!) Anyhow, once we arrived at the airport we took a shuttle to the hotel, it was a little bit of a tour, but we were pretty excited. We settled into the most beautiful hotel room ever with SOFT beds and a million pillows, a HUGE flat screen TV and a really deep tub! We stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton this is a tour of an almost exact room (except we had two beds :-) It was amazing. So, Saturday night we toured our Motel and got our bearings, we had a drink in one of the many lounges (I got carded....I LOVE VEGAS!!!!), and some reeeeaaaly yummy nachos and then headed to bed.

Sunday morning we headed to the bakery Expo... It was FANTASTIC!!! These are some of the great things we saw, and tasted!!!!!


By the time we left, we were FUUUULLLL, and loaded with lots of COOL swag, baguette pens, canvas bags, information, and more! Then it was time to hit the town to see the show we were waiting for!!! We got glitzed up and headed to the Bellagio....

At the Bellagio we found the theatre, then headed out to find some dinner... NOT at the Bellagio, the prices in the motel were absolutely outragous!!! So, we hoofed it over to Caesar's Palace and found a more affordable place to eat. After dinner it was time for O. The most amazing, fantastic, stupendous show EVER!!! I can't even begin to describe it. The usher even let me talk into his walkie talkie thing!!!! After the show we walked around with our mouths open for a while, checked out the water show, headed back to the room to change our shoes and headed back out. We saw New York, New York, drank "slurpee like" beverages, walked a bit of the strip, and then called it a night, I went to bed still digesting all that I had seen.. too much to take in all at once!

The next day we hit the Expo for a while met our boss Joe and his crew (wife, daughter, and son-in-law) and hooked up with them for the remainder of the day. We spent some fantastic quality time sipping Pina Coladas by the hotel pool and then went for a fabulous dinner at a Brazilian BBQ place, it had a fancy little doodad on the table with one green end and one red end, when you wanted them to bring you meat on a sword, you left it on green, when you wanted them to stop, you turned it to red.... simple...delicious. Along with a bunch of different kinds of BBQ, they brought salad, breads, beans and all kinds of sides including plantains . After dinner we hit the town, we galavanted and caroused, If anyone says that they saw me acting unrully, they are a liar! At 3:30am I finally hit the hay, although sleep did not come easy after a few too many Red Bull's (oops). At 5:30 am we were up and off to the Grand Canyon. Although I was mighty tired I didn't regret a moment.

The Grand Canyon was all that and more. From our motel we were bussed to the airport, where we flew over Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon. Once we were at the Grand Canyon we boarded a helicopter that flew us into the Canyon....I KNOW RIGHT!~!!!!

It was amazing. To go from blazing lights and tall buildings to the beauty of God's creation... right in the middle of it.. was freaking awesome!!! After we landed in the bowl of the Canyon, we boarded a boat for a little tour down the Columbia River. It was beautiful! I was very surprized by the color of the water, kind of like a slate milkshake, ...interesting! Then we headed to Guano Point which literally translates to "bat poo". There they served us a traditional native lunch (that had nothing to do with poo)... beef on a bun, corn on the cobb, coleslaw, and a sweet cornbread... it was fabulous, and the view was stunning! Then back to the strip for an hour or two of shopping and finally a bit of shut eye by the pool. From the pool it was straight to our plane and back home. We boarded our plane at 8:30pm, arrived in Calgary at about 1:00am and were at work by 3am. Needless to say by the end of those few days I was a bit of a narcileptic. I was hallucinating and could barely see straight, but every second of it was absolutely worth it.

*So, if you want to see all the pics they are on my space site...I know I'm a bit of a nut, but they are there if you are interested, if not, I have them recorded for posterity sake !

So, although I am on the fly and don't have much time I just had to tell you about these strange new creatures that have invaded my house. On a particularily warm September afternoon, just around 3:30 after a quiet day where the house remained strangely still, four smiling, bouncing, energetic creatures came through my door, I have taken to affectionatley dubbing them "the backtoschooligans". Let me take a moment and describe each of them to you, as their traits are unique to each individual beast.
backtoschooligan #1 seems to be the leader of the pack, she claims to have spent the day at a place called High School, I beilieve that must be a place that demands a little more maturity than low school, yet induces some minute bit of humility as well, perhaps because as she tells me, she is one of the youngest peers at this place a position wich is looked down upon by the elder students. She comes in the door regaling us with tales of 80 minute classes, trying to stifle a smile around her awkwardly braced teeth. She has embraced her new culture with a vengence, staying organized, keeping a positive attitude and all the while twirling around the house in various strech positions, and dance moves while listening to Miley Syrus videos on YouTube.... Strange indeed!
backtoschooligan #2 Talks non stop, it must be an aquired skill quite usefull as most elder of her Middle school. At times her prose flies by so quickly it would take a super-hero listening device to determine the exact structure and message of the verbal flyby. She is animated, noisy, smiley, and compasionate as she often has sought out others less blessed by the social "butterflieness" she possesses. I'm not sure if any work actually happens at this place she calls middle school as most of the verbal excitement (that I can understand) includes stories of friends, teachers lives, plans for socializing, clothes, plans for clothes and back to friends again... these subjects repeat with great frequency and varied volume throughout the afternoon and evening until she finally colapses into her bed at night.
backtoschooligan #3 Is a little more subdued although he also regales us with tales of the middle school. He is quite enamored with this woman he calls "teacher" perhaps it is a bit of a crush. "Our class is getting a bird", "she raises dogs", "she has a chart on the board", "she lives next door to Carson", are phrases that repeat over and over with a slight sly grin. He is energetic, and enjoying his time at this place called middle school also telling us about cross country teams, and intramurals, oportunities to build friendships, enhance skills, and bleed money out of us like stuck pigs, but we love it. Often backtoschoolagin #3 disapears for hours on end to bike, hang out at friend's houses, get slurpees, and play ball in the drive way, nevertheless he always returns in time to torment backtoschooligan #1 to some degree.
backtoschooligan #4 Is a little more tempermental, he enjoys his new playschool, the beginning of this school journey as long as his mother is within arms reach. If she disapears from his line of vision he responds with whining, crying, gnashing of teeth, yelling, kicking and more heart wrenching tears. I watch this scene as little as possible as tears blur my vision. Tears still fresh from leaving backtoschooligan #1 at a place where the boys aka. men have facial hair and drive themselves to school. These transitions are fun, but they are tough!!! Once home backtoschooligan #4 is hesitant to show the picture he painted or admit the fun he had doing puzzles, playing in the water table, the dool house, the play house, drawing pictures etc. although I am aware that he has done these things with great enthusiasm when not too many were paying attention.

All in all these are quite enjoyable creatures and I think I'll keep them. Their feeding is relatively simple, their care is enjoyable, and they give FANTASTIC hugs, I just hope they don't sprout wings toooooo fast, because I don't know if the gutters can handle my tears, super proud, yet nostalgic! Hope you're all enjoying this new phase as much as I. Now, I'm late for work, no time for spell check... SORRY ! and tomorrow is VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Reminder!

"Don't sweat the small stuff; what doesn't matter just doesn't matter. Laugh every day even if it is at yourself. And love like there is no tomorrow! "

Author Unknown (but God Bless them!)

Wordless Wednesday

My Secret Shame - and I'm blaming "fly lady"

So, as most of you know, I have totally bought into the "Fly Lady" cult. I absolutely love it, and it is a sytem that (for now :-) is really working for me! One of the favorite things that I have learned is the importance of a shiny sink. I know, that sounds pretty ridiculous, but with 6 of us in our little house, it does'nt take any time for the dishes to pile up, just one or two cups on the counter make the entire kitchen look messy. Therefore the "fly lady" suggests that a gal get a bin under the sink in wich to store some of these unmentionables before they pile up. Works like a charm! So, being me, I was very proud of this new system and eager to show people how great it is, after all, my house is now 9 times out of 10 company ready. Show off time came when my mom and dad came over for dinner:
"Tada!" I exclaimed

There before us was my shiny sink and bare counter top. She was visibly impressed. (insert oohs and ahhs here.) Then came my moment of shame. I proudly flung open my cupboard door to show this stroke of genius, the bin below where we now keep our secret cache of dirty dishes before the time comes to cleanse them from their vile filth :-)

Judging by the look on my mother's face you would think that I had just let her take a glimpse of our secret stash of porn, or stood in the middle of the street and mooned the pastor! She covered very well once she realized that this was a system that was working for us and that I was actually "proud" of this ridiculous debacle. Her face underwent an extreme transformation from shock and horror to ... well somthing else, in two point five seconds flat... impressive. She smiled, nodded, and feighned interest in my crazy scheme. "Well," I thought "I might be able to impress some, and it might work for me.... but I guess I haven't quite arrived". So, there you have it dishes and shame from the fly lady cult. Really, it's all quite enjoyable, and a clean, de-cluttered house is working for us.... for now :-)

Confessions of a Cookie Crazed Maniac!

Confession #1:
Ben changed my Desktop picture to a chips ahoy picture of a giant talking cookie ................... and i LOVE it!!!!!!!

Confession #2:
I love to eat Jumbo Pb cookies (yes that is plural... so what!) from the bakery for breakfast

Confession #3:
The cookie Monster song is one of my all time favorites, it is worth noting that it is the most versatile song....ever!! C is for Cookie.

Confession #4:
I have a weakness for men.....of the gingerbread variety :-)

Confession #5:
I go nuts for White Chocolate/Macadamia nut cookies.

Confession #6:
If I could have a super-hero power, it would probably be the ability to make delicious cookies out of anything.

Confession #7:
If you were a cookie, I'd probably gobble you up :-)

Confession #8:
When the song "It's Raining Men" comes on at the bakery, I run for the nearest gingerbread dude and perform the coolest dance routine....EVER!

Confession #9:
I wish I had cookie perfume!

Confession #10
mmmmmglsdfoijmklsdkl..... sorry, did you miss that? My mouth was full!

Catch U next time!