Party Favors: Cool Crayons

Just finishes making the most amazing party favors for Katie's 2nd Birthday Party this weekend.  I went to Michael's and bought 2 candy molds- flowers for the girls and sea creatures for the boys.  I also bought the 120 pack of crayons.  I used rinsed out soda cans and cut off the tops for my double broiler and sish-ca-bob sticks to stir.

I separated all of the crayons into piles of different colors.  I later learned that you can add 'filer' colors like white to blends that you need to stretch.  

 Then you have to peel the crayons.  I started with yellow and then made the color into more of an orange shade.  Turned out lovely.  I do wish I had used white with the yellow to get more yellow fish.  I took 4 or 5 crayons to get a fish.

 I put them in my soda can until the melted.  I stirred them with my little wooden stick.

I started making my beautiful fish and flowers

The blue things are little pieces of tape since I used sucker molds

 These are the finished product.  I love them and they fit perfectly into my plan of not giving Katie's party guests a bunch of junk in their gift bags

When I was getting low on crayons I starting adding extra filler colors that worked well.  I put black in a purple and blue mixture for an extra shark and used the golds and light browns to make a fish.  I hope the kiddos love these as much as I do.

How to Pay for College...?

So my beautiful Katie Bear is almost two and I am already having panic issues about how we will possibly pay for her to go to college someday.  Vanguard estimates that is will cost $198,924 to send her to college in 2029.  Starting with a $6,000 college fund this year and continuing to put $250 a month in her college fund we will have $99,618 when it is time to put her in school.  College costs go up in inflation about 6% a year while they predict my money will make 5% a year.  So how do I make up the other 50% of her school bill???  Seems like only very poor people on scholarships and really rich people will get to send their kids to college :(

Any ideas of how to save more money?

 

Pork and Butternut Squash Stew

This is the guaranteed go to dish when I want my whole house to smell of deliciousness.  It is fairly labor intensive, but well worth the effort, especially if I can make it during Katie's nap.  You must try it-  a true blend of savory and sweet.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or oil 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 cups chicken broth 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

3 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash 2 Fuji apples, cored and cubed 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 cups carrots, peeled and diced

Directions:

1.	Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Stir in the garlic and onion, and continue to cook until the onion has softened, and the pork is firm, and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
2.	Place the pork into a large saucepan. Pour in the chicken broth, and season with salt, rosemary. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3.	Stir in the butternut squash, apples, potatoes, and carrots. Return to a simmer, then cook, uncovered until the squash and apples are tender, about 20 minutes.  You can also cook the pork and then put it in the crock pot until everything is tender.  If it lasts until the next day it becomes even better

Easy Garlic Bread

This is the easiest, most beautiful, tasty garlic bread ever!  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a half a stick of butter in the bottom of the pan  (keep this part secret from your health conscious husband).  Then take one package of Grands non-flaky biscuits and cut them in quarters.  Toss the biscuit quarters into a mixture of garlic salt and Parmesan cheese.  This is a personal choice thing.  I like mine very garlicky.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Dump out of pan and viola!

Easy Garlic Bread:

1 package Grands biscuits
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 or 4 shakes of garlic salt

Melt butter in a bundt pan in the over until it heats up to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, cut biscuits into quarters and toss with cheese and garlic salt.  Bake 20 minutes.  Enjoy but don't eat it all in one sitting.

Kidkraft Nantucket Table and Chairs

I think one of Katie's favorite presents this Christmas was her table and chairs.  The colors are so sweet and soft.  She loves to play using her table.

Katie playing Little People

Getting everyone's drinks ready for the party.

Setting the table for her tea party

A Katie Bear tea party

 Each dinner got a cup of water, plate of eggs, and either a fork or a spoon.  She made each of them eat their lunch and even blew on the food for them so it wouldn't be too hot.  A very good hostess. 

General Finishes Georgian Cherry Project

Since we are back from our little siesta in Ecuador, we have gotten right back into staining cabinets.  I have to confess that I am really growing more and more uneasy about the project.  It is not turning out like I hoped.  Strangely, Dan is liking it more and more....  I have put one coat of stain on the desk area of my kitchen and it looks terrible- yeah it always starts terrible.

 

This is the other side that is 'done.'  Dan put the handles on yesterday during the football game.  It is .... okay.  I sort of wish that we would have just painted them instead of using stain

 

Now I have a ton more work to do and like a week before Christmas dinner at our house.   I fear this project will not be done in time and the contents of my cabinets will be exposed to all.

Gate 1 Day 7 Cotopaxi National Park

On our last tour day in Ecuador I was feeling the full swing of the stomach flu affecting most of the U.S.  But not wanting to miss anything I continued with our full schedule, minus the food.  Dan was also starting to get sick but this point :(  We went to Cotopaxi National Park with some of the World's highest altitude volcanoes.  We took an hour or so hike around Limpiapungo Lake.

Looking for birds

We saw wild horses

 

Hacienda Manteles Patate, Ecuador

We stayed at the most fabulous hotel in Patate.  We were nestled high in the Andes with fabulous views.  Our tour group of 15 were the only people there.  The manager used fresh ingredients from his garden to make our dinners.  He even made me a special tea to help with my stomach ache- it tasted kind of like spaghetti sauce.  Since I was not up for eating dinner they brought me soup and bread in my room.  It was delicious and I ate a whole two bites of it before going back to bed.  Dan took a tour of the gardens.  The manager said we could go back and stay there for $20 a night if we worked in his gardens for a few hours a day.

On the way to the hotel.  One of Ecuador's beautiful volcanoes- Tungurahua

A very interesting type of Eucalyptus tree

Dan and the doggies in the garden.  The hotel on 2,000 acres of land.  they harvested tree tomatoes which they turn into sauces and juices.

passion fruit

The main part of the hotel

 

The Devil's Cauldron

 After taking prilosec OTC, imodium, dramamine, and peptobismul I had to venture out of the bathroom and continue on my vacation.  Before it was time to go a huge thunder and lightening storm rolled in.  There was so much rain. All of the birds and butterflies ducked down into the canopy.  I thought that surely we would not be boarding metal canoes in a river during a lightening storm.  I guess I was wrong.  We boarded our canoes and left the hotel- there was a slight break in the action.  I sat at the front of the bus in case I needed to Alto Mas Pronto!   We drove to the town of Banos (fitting, I know) and the the Devil's Caldron Waterfall.  Not wanting to miss any of my vacation I joined the hike down there.  A bit of a mistake since I wasn't eating and was exhausted by the end.   

Every hike in Ecuador was beautiful

The mini version

We finally made it down there

Dan continued the hike and went under the waterfall

another view

Hikes, Rafts, and Ziplines

After breakfast we took our canoes up the river for a three hours hike.  We learned all about what the Indians use different plants for.  It was amazing.  They had palm trees that were so thick, when our guide hit his machete against it, it bounced off and sounded like steel.  

Steel Palm

Cheese grater tree

They use termites as bug spray.  They scrap them off their mounds and rub them all over their bodies.  Then they use the nests like a citronella candle in their homes by burning them.  The termite mounds were huge and abundant.  They don't eat them like Dan tried to.

Termites

Monkeys use these to brush themselves

Food grater

After our hike we took a balsa log raft down the river.  Dan and I decided to enjoy the water in a little swim.

After lunch we decided to go zip-lining.  We had to take a rickety car ride and then hike for about 40 minutes to get to the course.  It was hot and I was starting to feel nauseous but we still had fun

The zip-lining course was $10.... a nice investment :)   Another busy day on our Gate 1 Ecuador Adventure

Thermas to Napo River

We started off the day at the Thermas Hot Springs.  We decided to wake up early and take an additional hike in the valleys between the Andes.  We first saw a herd of llamas.  They were really quite lovely creatures.

 I loved the mountains with all of the fog.    We walked along a river.  We were in a cloud forest since we were so high up.  There were bodies of water and waterfalls everywhere.

When we left this morning we drove down 10,000 feet to the Napo River basin of the Amazon. 

 We took a canoe to our hotel.

On the Canoe

Casa Del Suizo

Casa Del Suizo Hotel

 Our hotel room had a wonderful hammock and lots and lots of bugs

Dan's spot to relax

Our room

We laid out on the deck and watched all of the beautiful birds and butterflies and the river.  After lunch we had to put on knee high rain boots and ride a canoe to a local village where we learned about their way of life.  

 We got a demonstration in blow dart blowing.  Then we all got to take a turn trying to shoot the monkey target.  I was the only person to hit him!  I was very proud of my Amazonian skills.

Dan's shot

My try

Tonight, we feast!

Then we went and had our faces painted in party paint using the lipstick plant.  It was so much fun.

The inside of the lipstick plant

As I wrote this post our bed was covered in bugs that had come inside, seen the light, been fried, and fallen down.  EWWWW!  Still having a blast though.