Wax-a-roons

I should have known. I should have listened to that inner voice that said, "Don't use wax paper in the oven." And YET... the cookbook specifically said "Line sheet with greased wax paper."


SO... with smoke pouring out of my oven and all my baking sheets now covered with wax, I have to say !@#*&@*&$^*^%&^@%#&$*&* to you, stupid cookbook, and the horse you rode in on. Also #$@%.


At any rate, making lemons out of lemonade, or in this case, macaroon chunks out of a big waxy mess... Lee and his cousin Mike didn't have any trouble picking off the good bits of coconut-y yumminess. Mike's wife didn't join us in our munching, which is, we figure, the reason she is a size 2 and we are not.

This is the Sport that Never Ends...

My mom asked me the other day about soccer, and I realized that it SEEMS like there would not be soccer at this time of year.

Oh, but there is. They still have practice 3 times a week (indoor), and they had one tournament each (indoor). Indoor play is quite different from outdoor: fewer players, smaller field, smaller goal, no off-sides, shorter games. They each had 4 games during their tournament... on the same day.

Here's a pic from Yordi's last game in November. It was chilly. (Ha! We thought THAT was cold.) They ended well, winning this game 2-1.


And here's one from October... Habtamu's got a pretty powerful kick.

Excuse me...

Have you ever...

Mom?

tried to talk...

Mom?!

to your spouse...

Mom? Mom?

without being...

Mommy? Where are you?

interrupted?

After church on Sunday, I had just a few things to talk about with Lee. I let the kids get out of the car, and told Lee, "Lock the doors!" So we sat in the car in the driveway with the doors locked. The kids started pelting snowballs at the car and were having a grand old time. We then put the car in neutral and let them push the car up and down the driveway.

Meanwhile, our kind neighbor, seeing our car being pushed, stopped to help... Hee hee... had to tell him, no thanks, we're just trying to talk for 5 minutes.

I think somebody's excited for Christmas.

Monkeys - another story by Yordanos.

I just love her stories.

Killer Lentil Soup

Both kids agreed that this soup didn't look like it would taste good. Both had 2 servings and were oohing and aahing over it. I'll share it with you, although it's certainly not rocket science. You all probably have the ingredients on hand.

1 onion chopped
4 carrots chopped
1 T crushed garlic
4 T butter
1 t. cumin
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (or red pepper, or your spicy spice of choice - or not)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth (I use chicken base mixed with water)
2-3 cups cooked lentils

Fry up the onions, carrots, and garlic in butter. Add spices, stir to avoid burning. Add tomatoes and broth and lentils. Let simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I served it as a thick soup this time. Add less liquid, and it can be eaten with injera or flour tortillas.

Stary Wars

Yordanos opted out of book time tonight to write her own story. She had some help from the nerdiest mom on the block, but you know, how else is a kid gonna spell 'Bacta Tank' right? And really, it's pretty amazing considering that last Christmas she told me Yoda was Luke's father.

Clicking on the picture should make it nice and big for ya'll, but I'll warn you, there's a big spoiler in there for the three of you who haven't seen Return of the Jedi yet. If anyone has trouble reading it, I can transcribe it. I'm fluent in Yordese.