Day 7: Ants Ants Everywhere Ants!!

Ok, so it's not really that bad. The only place I have seen ants is in the kitchen. It started a few weeks ago with just three to four ants at a time. Never more than five. I could handle that (although I did realize that where there are 3-4 ants...). But yesterday, 5 or 6 pieces of dog food got knocked from the dog food bowl. Around supper time, I went to the kitchen to find a steady trail of ants marching in single file to and from the kibbles on the floor --- EW! No longer ignorable!!

So, for the first time in this journey, I went to Pinterest out of necessity rather than enjoyment! I found a few ideas -- vinegar, Borax and honey (and other sweet attractants), boric acid, poison, and even a "live girls" ant bar (no kidding).

So I used what I had on hand -- vinegar. I didn't have an empty spray bottle to give to the project, so I dug out my old Pampered Chef olive oil spray bottle and used that. I haven't used it for what it was made for in a long time as most of my cooking is done on Pampered Chef stoneware which is by nature non-stick by itself. So it worked perfectly.

I pumped that bottle full of vinegar and went on the attack, spraying every square inch of space where I saw an ant!

Well, it worked. Within a few minutes of watching them all do a silly ant dance, they all rolled over dead... Only problem with that is that it means they didn't take anything back to the source to kill the rest of the colony. They haven't come back yet though, so for now I will claim a small victory -- and will stock myself up with some borax for when they decide its safe to come back. Whenever that happens, they will be WRONG and then they will be dead!

Take that, food mongrels!!

Source: http://myoldkentuckyhomestead.blogspot.com/ (unfortunately, it's linked to the base blog
address and not the actual blog entry so I never read the blog. Just took their word that vinegar would help!)

Source for when the return: http://diyhomedesignpins.com/?p=51694

Day 6 (yesterday): This One's for the Birds!

Apologies for the lack of a post yesterday. I wrote the majority of it out and then lost it somehow and did not have the time to retype around bed times and spending some much needed quality time with my husband!! So here goes... Along with a sneak peek at today's necessary project!

Jubilee and I decided we wanted to do a Spring craft yesterday. Perhaps thinking that if we pretend it is really here, the weather will somehow catch up!! Hasn't worked yet, b then again, we haven't gotten them outside yet!

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I was reminded in Pinterest of the pine cone/peanut butter/ seeds bird feeders. Since we had a "messy crafts" elective at our kids church program and it fit in well with that and e upcoming Spring season. Since ey had a lot of extra seed and PB, Jubi and I decided it would make a great home craft too.

So we set out all the stuff, and went to it! I thought it would be a basic enough craft that Jubi could do it, but she really wanted nothing to do with spreading the PB. She would rather eat it by the finger full straight out of the jar. She did have fun helping me roll the buttered cones in the seed and packing them all tight.

She just came downstairs and let me know she is ready to go out and hang me up. See you later!! Mommyhood calls!

Source: http://therapyfunzone.com/blog/2011/09/pine-cone-bird-feeder-and-spreading-with-a-knife

(The last picture is a spoiler for today's project. It was one that jumped the line in front of everything else I had planned out of necessity to complete --- ICK!)

Changing the Rules

Because this is my game and I made up the rules to begin with, I feel I have every right to change the rules 5 (really 6) days in. If you don't agree, make up your own game and YOU can set the rules :D

Based on days like today (church, out for lunch with friends, two kids with zero naps, and the Bible special on tv tonight), I have decided that my 50 days will be better completed spread over 10 weeks with 5 days of projects each week, allowing for two days each week with no project accomplished.

I deem today to become of those days.

See you tomorrow!!

Sarah

Day 5: Inky

Twice now, a pen has leaked all over Jer's favorite button up shirts. I am pretty sure the first one got tossed, but this time, the shirt was brand new, worn maybe 4 times. He must have rested his arm on the tip of an inky pen because there is a spot right around his forearm region. I think it's wearable anyway since it's not a really obvious or central location, but I'd still like to get it out for him. We spotted it while he was still wearing it, so luckily it didn't go through the laundry and get set by the dryer heat. But it did get set aside and forgotten, so it has been sitting there untouched for about 2 weeks.

And that is where Pinterest came in today. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful (so far). I sat for 3/4 of an hour with hairspray and rags dabbing and spraying to no avail. Besides gaining sticky fingers, I made no ground. Another pin said to try rubbing alcohol in the same way. I started in that direction but at this point, I remembered that I had a bottle of Sol-U-Mel from Melaleuca that I was told could get out a myriad of annoying stains. So I dabbed and blotted from the undiluted bottle and it did seem to be fading, but after washing (which I thought might take out more ink), it's still therefore than I was hoping.

So unfortunately for Jer, this is my first Pinterest fail during this journey! I have not given up though. I will beat the stain! Any suggestions?? I'm going to get out the bottle of Sol-U-Mel again since that's where I had the most success.

Day 4: Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

Despite its comedy of errors during the making, supper tonight turned out pretty well. I made Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne.

One of the things I appreciated about this recipe was that it was written out as a double batch, one for now and one for later. I have never *DONE* freezer cooking (making days of food ahead so all you have to do is minimal prep and cooking each day) but would definitely give it a try someday when I have the luxury of a deep freeze. For now, I will put this one meal in the freezer for a busy day and be very grateful on the day I pull it out! Then maybe I will make another double :)

Anyway, back to this recipe. We don't do a lot of pasta, but we do enjoy it when we do. We try to stick to the whole wheat stuff to get a little more nutritional value, but in this case, I found the multigrain penne instead. I used some of the Pinterest authors substitutes (Italian mixed cheese instead of straight provolone, skipped the sundries tomatoes -- although I forgot to put in broccoli or asparagus in its place. We just ended up having Brussels sprouts on the side)

So although I burned the milk while checking on my screaming son in another room, and I added in the entire mount of cheese instead of leaving a cup for the tops, and I forgot the additional veg, all in all, it was not a bad supper at all! In fact, I think we will enjoy leftover day and I can't wait for the day when ALL I have to do is turn on the oven and pop that second baby in there! Or, perhaps, if I'm feeling super ambitious that day, I will take the opportunity to make bread sticks and salad to authenticate the Olive Garden feel ;)

Just in case you want to try it without following the link below, here's the recipe! I would recommend it if you like cheesy and pasta!

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate (She used a 14.5 oz box of Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigate)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
6 garlic cloves, finely minced (I only used three because garlic and I sometimes disagree)
6 cups whole milk
10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I'm no mushroom expert, so I just used regular mushrooms, 8 oz)
1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained (optional, I skipped these)
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces) (I used an italian blend that had provolone in it)
1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
- While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes). Use a little extra olive oil if needed.
- In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer. Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. ( this took longer than a few minutes for me)
- Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes. If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie. If cooking, sprinkle on top.
- Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:

To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool. Cover pan well with plastic wrap. Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, preheat oven to 400. Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside. Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes (I only did 10 minutes) or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

Pinterest source: http://realmomkitchen.com/1505/baked-cheesy-chicken-penne/

Also, sorry my picture is terrible --I got pretty lazy!! I also forgot -- this is a picture of the unbaked freezer dish.

Day 3: Who Wants Cake??

This afternoon, Jubi asked if we could make a cake. Of course we can since we happen to have all of the needed items! I had even just recently bought icing sugar, so we were good to go! And since we were making a cake, why not have some fun with it and make a Pinterest project while we are at it!

Knowing just what I wanted to do, I pulled out my two smaller round cake pans and we went to work. Jubilee put in the mix, the water, and the oil. For the first time, she asked if she could do the eggs as well. Maybe making the Easter eggs the other day helped widen her horizons of what she was capable of doing! She did a decent job considering she's two :) She just needed a little assistance.

Being the good mother that I am, I gave her one of the beaters to lick which she thoroughly enjoyed. My back was to her while she was licking away, so I wasn't quite sure what she meant when I heard her say "I am making it so there's not too much." After hearing her say that a couple times, I looked at her to find her dipping her beater back in the bowl to get more, thus leaving "not too much". Haha, what a funny girl. I laughed and told her there was not too much and that we could use all of it in the cake pans. (And then, being the good mother that I am, I let her dip it back in just one more time ;). )

Once she went to bed, I went to work decorating the cake to surprise her with when she got up. She loved it! I should have taken a pic of it WITH her, but I didn't think of it, and naturally, he's now missing one ear and a hunk of his face!!

Pinterest Source: http://www.listia.com/auction/8822829-cinnamon-roll-bunnies-recipe. As far as I can tell, it's just a picture and is made with two cinnamon buns, but it was my inspiration regardless. :)

Tomorrow, I think I'm making supper! Stay tuned for Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne!!

Day 2 (yesterday): Best days of my life!

Ok, I kind of felt like this day might have been a bit of a cop out because honestly, I started this project two years ago when I made Jubilee's. But then I decided to feel better about it because I was otherwise never going to get around to making Zig's! And regardless of when I made the first one, it IS a Pinterest project so I went with it.

I tweaked this project slightly from its original just to use frames that we already had and were not using well. They were partially filled with pictures but were never finished and never hung. Now they will be hung with pride.

Apologies that there are still holes in Z's. He was cranky this morning and was not going to cooperate with me trying to take close up hand shots (to match J's feet shots).

I'm not a big fan of the "Ziggy" square, so may change that, but overall, I'm glad the project is finished :) I felt guilty for not having him up yet!!

Pinterest source: http://shannonberrey.com/_blog/Shannon_Berrey_Design_Blog/post/recap/

I'm going to apologize now, but I don't think anything special is going to happen today. I think I have lost all hope of having a spare moment to myself today.