It's my birthday and I'll eat cake if I want to!

Forget the diet, at least for today, because I just turned 34 years old and what better way to celebrate than with a big slice of Tres Leches Cake?

I even have some for all of you, so go ahead and help yourselves to a slice :)

Wow, 34! Where did the time go?

Last year I had made a post about how my birthday was going to be like any other, a day that would not stick out in my memory for any reason, nothing major or important would happen but little did I know that within an hour of writing that entry, I would get a phone call with the news that my Uncle Carlos had just passed away.

So the days leading up to today have been a mixture of anticipation, excitement and sadness all rolled into one big ball of emotions. I woke up this morning determined to have a good day no matter what came my way, but then I checked my email and had a message from my youngest brother wishing me a Happy Birthday but also giving me some sad news. My sister in law Nadine (his wife) is 5 1/2 months pregnant with their second daughter, yesterday she started bleeding and having some stomach cramping, she's been admitted to the hospital and is still there. So again, Sandra's birthday coincides with another family struggle.

Nadine and Bruno

I'm asking you all to please say a prayer for Nadine and my little niece, they could use it right now, please pray that they are able to stabilize them both and that the baby will hold on until November to be born, or if it is God's will that she is born early, then that she will be strong enough to fight through this. I'm almost positive that she will be, she is after all a member of this amazing family and our love will pull her through.

But enough with sad things, I could sit back and think that it's becoming a pattern, every year on my birthday something happens to someone in the family, but I choose to believe otherwise. I choose to rather think of this as just a reminder of what a wonderful family I have, how much we love each other and how important each and every one of them is to me. They are my rock, all of them in their own special way!

So before I go and celebrate, I'll leave you with some fun facts about August 10, 1974!

Top News Headlines This Week:
Aug 10 - Judy Rankin wins LPGA Colgate-European American Golf Open Aug 11 - Head-on collision between two buses kills 21 (Ankara, Turkey) Aug 11 - Lee Trevino wins PGA championship Aug 11 - 56th PGA Championship: Lee Trevino shoots a 276 at Tanglewood NC Aug 11 - Coup in East-Timor under UDT Aug 12 - Nolan Ryan strikes-out 19 Red Sox


Top Songs for 1974

Billy, Don't Be a Hero by Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods	Seasons In the Sun by Terry Jacks
Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas	The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk
The Streak by Ray Stevens	The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) by MFSB with the Three Degrees	Having My Baby by Paul Anka
Annie's Song by John Denver	I Can Help by Billy Swan

US President
Gerald R. Ford

US Vice President
Nelson A. Rockefeller

Academy Award Winners
The Godfather Part I
Directed By Francis Ford Coppola

Best Actor: Art Carney
in Harry And Tonto

Best Actress: Ellen Burstyn
in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

1974 Prices
Bread: $0.28/loaf
Milk: $1.39/gal
Eggs: $1.24/doz
Car: $4,440
Gas: $0.53/gal
House: $38,900
Stamp: $0.10/ea
Avg Income: $14,711/yr
Min Wage: $2.00/hr
DOW Avg: 616

People born on August 10

1959 - Rosanna Arquette NYC, actress (Desperately Seeking Susan)

1947 - Ian Anderson Scotland, rocker (Jethro Tull-Bungle in the Jungle)

1874 - Herbert Clark Hoover, West Branch Iowa, (R) 31st Pres (1929-1933)

1928 - Jimmy Dean Tx, actor/singer (Jimmy Dean Show, Diamonds are Forever)

On TV in 1974
Emergency
The Bob Newhart Show
M*A*S*H
Little House on the Prairie
All in the Family
The Rockford Files
The Waltons
Happy Days
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Columbo


Hot New Toys in 1974

Connnect Four	Evel Knievel Dragster	Star Trek figures
Evel Knievel Stunt Stadium	Monchhichi	Planet of the Apes figures
Digger the Dog	Rubik's Cube	Sit 'N Spin

Top Books in 1974
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas

The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro Working by Studs Terkel

Walking on Sunshine!

Boy did we have a huge thunderstorm last night, the lightning was so bright that everytime it hit, the inside of the house looked like it was afternoon.

I do love sleeping with the sound of rain outside the window though, you hear the soft pitter patter on the rooftop, the branches scraping against the window, the wind blowing, and you're safely snug inside your bed, it's like being in a little cocoon of warmth.

But this morning, it's all gone, the rain has left and instead we have a cloudless blue sky, the sun is shining bright but there is still the *after the rain* smell. You know the one right? Love it!

Since it was cloudy and dreary all day yesterday, I threw a beef stew in one crockpot and a Herb Bread in the other. The scent emanating from both was enough to make me almost say "forget the diet", ALMOST, but I did behave and contain myself. By the time nighttime rolled around, the rain was coming down hard while we sat around the dinner table with a bowl like this:


See that bread slice? Can you believe that it was baked in the crockpot? I had no idea you could do that, I guess I should have known since pretty much anything can be made using your slow cooker, but there's a first time for everything right? I think I'll be baking more soon, and with 3 slow cookers at my disposal I may just turn my house into a small bakery *snort*

Later today I'll post a recipe for Apple Hand Pies, they are so easy to make and the kids pretty much snorted those up in no time LOL



Remember the sewing machine problem? Well I cleaned it up really good oiled it and changed the bobbin and now it works just wonderfully (wait is that a word? I can't even remember), so I sat down yesterday while the kids were quiet. Jasmine was in her bedroom devouring books, she's become quite an avid reader which makes me so happy....and Nicholas was in the living room laying on the couch with his blanket, watching tv.

I cut out all the fabric and within 30 minutes I had made two very easy fabric tote bags, they turned out so well and one has already become my designated library bag. In fact, I took it with us to the library yesterday and got 2 compliments on it. Who knows, maybe I'll make one to give away here or make some to sell. Seems that everyone and their mother has an Etsy shop nowadays LOL Maybe it's my turn?



LOVE them and Jasmine has already asked me for one for two matching ones, one for herself and one to send to her best friend in Idaho. BUT, I also want to make some for my nieces back home, so I guess I'll be busy for a while but considering how extremely easy they are to make, shouldn't take me long.

I also want to start my Advent Calendar from Allsorts. With the kids starting school on Monday I'll have plenty of quiet time to get stuff done around here, so don't be surprised if you start seeing pictures pop up on my blog with crafts and projects galore.

Now what else is going on here??? Oh reading, of course, I'm already reading, I finished the Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury and while I loved them, it was sad to read the last book and now it makes me want to jump right into her Sunrise Series which are supposed to be about the Baxter family and also Katy and Dayne. Can't wait.

While at the library yesterday I picked up a few more books:

One Tuesday Morning #1 September 11 Series- Karen Kingsbury
Spell of the Highlander - Karen Marie Moning (yes it's a series but I didn't realize until I picked up the book and started reading it LOL..oh well)
Bright Captivity #1 in the Georgia Trilogy - Eugenia Price

Good books!

For today I'm just cleaning the house, probably making one or two bags and getting all the final things ready for school starting on Monday. It will be a busy morning but then I'm hoping to have some quiet time in the afternoon to visit all the blogs, catch up on email and watch some tv.

Hope you're all having a wonderful friday!

Show and Tell Friday!

The wonderful Kelli over at "There's no place like home" has started this friday feature, here's what she had to say:

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, a new antique find, an old love letter. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!

If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your "Show and Tell" on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky.

What I'm showing you today, I already did back on my blog a LONG time ago, but I know that most of you wouldn't have seen it and it bears repeating.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

If you've been visiting my blog for a while you will know how much my Greatgrandmother meant to me, still does. I always think back about the times we spent together, the laughs, the jokes and all that she taught me.

One thing I love doing is cooking, and she did too. I remember spending hours watching her at the stove and learning from her. Those were some of the best moments of my life.

She loved collecting recipes and so do I, so when I was about 15 or 16, we sat down at the kitchen table and cut out recipes from magazines or newspapers to make this little booklet for me. I still have it and it's one of my treasured possessions. Now mind you all the recipes are in portuguese, because, well, because I'm portuguese LOL

Some of the pages are starting to fall apart, and at first I was thinking about redoing it, but then I remembered that my greatgrandmothers hands touched it, she tied the strings for me and I wouldn't DARE undo it. I hope to one day pass it on to my daughter.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

All my slow cooking recipes are now online and starting today, I will add all the recipes shared weekly to my online del.icio.us site too. So if you're wanting to find ALL the slow cooked recipes that have been shared since the first SLOW COOKING THURSDAY, here is the link for you.

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

As always, share your slow cooking recipes but if you REALLY REALLY don't have one and still want to participate, then you can share any kind of recipe.

Bread anyone?!?!?!

Honey Wheat Bread

2 c Dry milk, warm/reconstituted
2 tb Vegetable oil
1/4 c Honey
3/4 ts Salt
1 pk Active dry yeast
3 c Whole wheat flour
3/4 c All-purpose flour (to 1 cup)

Preheat slow cooker (3 1/2 or 5 quart) on high for 30 minutes.

Combine warm, not hot, milk, oil, honey, salt, yeast, and half the flour. With electric mixer, beat well for about 2 minutes. Add remaining flour; mix well. place dough in well greased bread 'n Cake pan; cover. Let stand for 5 minutes. Place pan in slow cooker. Cover and bake on high setting for 2 to 3 hours.

Remove pan and uncover. let stand 5 minutes. Unmold and serve warm.

Herb Bread

1 tsp. granulated sugar
1-1/3 cups warm water
1 envelope active dry yeast (1 scant Tbsp. )
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 tsp. dried whole oregano
1 tsp. ground sage
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup all purpose flour

Stir first amount of sugar in warm water in large warmed bowl. Sprinkle with yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast. Add next 8 ingredients. Beat on low to moisten. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Work in second amount of flour. Turn into greased 3-1/2 quart slow cooker. Smooth top with wet spoon or hand. Place 5 paper towels between top of slow cooker and lid. Put wooden match or an object 1/8-inch thick between paper towels and edge of slow cooker to allow a bit of steam to escape. Do not lift lid for the first 2 hours cooking time. Cook on High for about 2-1/2 hours. Loosen sides with knife. Turn out onto rack to cool. Cuts into 14 slices.

Cloudy, Rainy, PERFECT!

I'm thankful that we've been getting quite a bit of rain here lately, it seems that we spend the day with really high temperatures around 112º and then by 5pm the sky starts changing and I love just staring out my kitchen window and watching it unfold.




So no rain yet this morning, just the clouds but it's feeling so much cooler and it makes me want to get in the kitchen and bake, maybe a Banana Bread or some Gingersnap Cookies, or I may just put together a big pot of vegetable soup. YUM!

You guys are lucky that I am so open on this blog and don't think there's anything that I won't talk about, because I'm about to admit that I'm an idiot, with a capital I. Remember the whole sewing machine ordeal? Some of you gave me some really good advice, things I hadn't even thought of....the first sign that I'm an idiot LOL But then yesterday while talking to my Grandma back home, I asked her about it again.

First let me tell you why I asked her, she is a seamstress, and some of my fondest memories are sitting with her in her sewing studio surrounded by fabric and all sorts of sewing machines, thread and needles and pins around us. She made wedding dresses and alterations and she's a genius with a sewing machine. So when I mentioned my problem she calmly asked me a couple of questions, things like "Are you sure you're threading it right?" YES..."did you make sure it's clean inside, dust can sometimes interfere" YES....."have you oiled your machine lately?" UHHHH...I'm supposed to oil the machine?????

DING DING DING Idiot alert! Boy did I feel stupid, considering I've NEVER oiled it and the machine is about 7 years old LOL

So guess what I'm doing today? Yep, oiling the machine! Thanks Grandma :)

I'm off to clean the house and conjure up some yumminess in the kitchen, but since summer is pretty much over for us with the kids returning to school, I thought I would leave you with a Summer Photo Album, a little reminder of what we did since school ended in May.

Summer Walks

Summer Runs

Seaside

Countryside

Sunshine

Thunderstorms

Cook outs

And cook ins

And enjoying full days of fun and staying up way past bed time to swing outside in the moonlight