Hello, Again!

Well, Hello there!

How have you been?

I've been okay. I've been busy with various things but I had to stop blogging about those things for a while.
Why? you ask? Well, let me tell you. I started having HORRIBLE anxiety issues and I don't know if it was BECAUSE of blogging or if I just DECIDED that it was because of blogging. It was very weird. And it was so bad that I couldn't even read a blog or hear the word blog without getting short of breath and feeling very weird.

Weird, huh?

Buuuuuuut, I'm better now and have things to tell you. I know, lucky huh?

Lots of things have happened since I saw you last. I've embraced my curly hair. I haven't blown it out in like 3 months. That's one thing.

My stepson got married. To a girl named Misty. His name is Robbie. My husbands name is Robbie. My name is Misty. Also weird. I like to call them Robbie and Misty Pearson 2.0. Or all of us Robbie and Misty squared. No one acts like thats so clever. Probably because they think its so clever and they have nothing quite so clever to say back to me. So they just stand there looking at me like I have a snake on my head, which I don't. Because they have nothing as clever to say. Yes. I'm quite sure that's it. I'll post pictures later.

I started cleaning Terry Bradshaw's pool. I met him. He's nice. I saw these two little guys on the way to Mr Bradshaw's house.

So, there's that.

I got some new baby chicks. I got them from Larry, the bird man down the road. I told him I wanted ten baby chicks because I use an old rabbit hutch as a brooder. Last time I got twenty of them and they got so heavy they busted out the bottom. When they hatched he called me and I explained the whole ratty brooder thing to him. Then he must have forgotten because he said " I know you only wanted a dozen of them but can you take fifteen?" "Yeah, sure. I guess it'll be fine." I replied. When I picked them up he said "I had extra so I gave you four extra." I don't think he was listening to me. So all nineteen go in the rabbit hutch brooder. I went out one morning and found this in there.

Yeah, its belly is full of 4 baby chicks! Here's what happened with THAT.

Before I begin....If you are a member of PETA or are a small, impressionable child read this paragraph and ignore the rest of the post.
I found this adorable, chubby creature in my chicken brooder one morning and I was so excited to have such a lovely visitor grace my chickeny home that I exclaimed "Why, Hello little fella! Whatcha doin? Where's your mama? You don't know? Well, let me help you find her." Then, I dressed him up in a little sailor suit (unless you're one of those PETA people that thinks dressing up animals in a sailor suit is torture. Then, I totally didn't do that. I dont really know whats  acceptable PETA behavior.) and buckled him up in THE BACKSEAT, BECAUSE ITS SAFER. PETA wink. and we drove around looking for the poor things mother. Of course we stopped for a healthy lunch, first. I couldn't have him getting hungry. He wanted candy but I said "No. It will rot out your teeth." I said that firmly but softly so as not to traumatize him by diminishing his feelings. After lunch, I took him to the park where we played and played. Oh, how we played! He said "You're the BEST!" I thanked him and said he has pretty hair. Then, we found his mommy. She thought he looked adorable. She gave me a big hug, thanked me for bringing her baby back and they slithered off into the sunset....

THE END

Nothing else happened. The rest of this post is just me ranting about what a raw deal rodeo monkeys get. Really. Trust me.


Okay, now for everybody else:

I totally stole that idea from Jenny Lawson's book. What a great way to avoid ugly lawsuits or at the very least someone throwing snake blood on me when I wear my faux fur jackets. I'm not technically against real fur. I just can't afford it. But, I digress.

I was on my way to work at Pearson Pools, your one stop pool shop, one Saturday morning where I work with my husband. Don't be jealous. Seriously, working with your husband is not as fun as it sounds.
Anyway, I was leaving for work and went in to check on the chicks and that snake was in there. I called Robbie and yelled "There's a snake in the coop!!!!! What do I do???" To which he replied "REALLY? A snake?" (okay let me insert here about how I anticipated his worry and undying love for me and his masculine need to save me as a damsel in distress. What he really said is...) "Thats weird...but more importantly how is that going to affect my breakfast?" To which I said "Breakfast?!? Gotta go, bye!"

Then, I immediately called Melanie and yelled "There's a snake in my brooder!!! What do I do? What do I do?" To which she replied, much more helpfully than the breakfast retort I might add "Get an axe or a machete and kill it."

Me: I don't have an axe or a machete

Her: WHO doesn't have an axe or a machete?!?

Me: Well, obviously I don't have an axe or a machete

Her: Well, okay then. Go in and get a big kitchen knife

Me: I don't HAVE  a big chicken knife either!

Her: No! I said a big KITCHEN knife. You need something you can strike down on it to kill it

Me: ummmmmm.....yeah, I aint doing that. I am NOT putting my hand close enough to the snakes head to let it kill me. Never mind, I'll figure something out.

So, I run into the house and wake up my 19 year old son. "Jake, Jake wake up!!! There's a snake in the chicken coop!! Do you want to shoot it?" He groggily shakes his head no. So I say "Well, what do I do??" He says in his sleepy teenager voice very unhelpfully (He is his father's son after all.) "Why don't you just go kill it with something?" Geee.....why didn't I think of that? :/

So, now I realize I'm in this all alone. Me against the world....er...snake. So I think....Hmmmmmm....We have guns. Shotguns and rifles but I don't know where the shells are. We have a hundgun that I'm sure is loaded but I think 'What are my odds of actually hitting a snake with THAT and I'd probably blow out the whole bottom of the brooder and then I'd really be screwed. So I ditch that idea and go into the shop and see what I've got to work with. I have a shovel, a hoe, (no not a 'ho! Although, she'd probably be pretty tough and might actually be more helpful than the males of my household.) and a sledgehammer. A sledgehammer!! Oh I can work with those!

So, I take my tools and go back into the coop. I lift the lid and take the shovel and very swiftly strike down on the snake behind its head. Well, that just pissed him off. Pandemonium ensues. He strikes. I scream and run. He can't get out of the brooder because hes so full of chicken. I calm myself by realizing that he didn't actually strike at ME but at the shovel and snakes aren't by nature super smart and probably doesn't even realize that I'M the one trying to kill him. So I go back in and do it again. And one more time. (crappy shovel is a piece of crap at killing snakes.) I ditch the shovel and pick up the hoe (which incidentally is what I wanted to use in the first place until Melanie told me a kitchen knife was a MUCH better idea. pssssh) I use the hoe to pull him out of the brooder at a nice, safe, leisurely if you will, distance away from me. I toss him over the chicken yard fence and then strike down with the sledgehammer. He gets a knot on his body from the blow but that didn't kill him either so I whack a couple more times. Finally! I think I got him.

That took like 30 minutes and Robbie was all "Sooooo, are you bringing breakfast anytime soon?" The rest of the day was pretty uneventful so I won't bore you with all that. I did have an event in my yoga studio that afternoon where I told my friends about the snake incident. One friend was getting a migraine and I asked her if she wanted an aspirin or something and she said "No, I need someone to just chop my head off." Then she realized what she just said in light of the snake story, and after a seconds thought said "But, NOT YOU!!"   I did go out later and buy a machete, some long hedgetrimmers, some screen material to staple around the brooder, and some stuff called Snake Repellant. Its made with cinnamon and cloves and stuff. It smells really good. In fact, as I sprinkled it all over the place I thought that it really freshened up the smell of the whole chicken coop. I thought 'I am kicking some serious snake ass tonight!'

Don't buy snake repellant. The very next night I went out and found another snake EATING a chick!!! This is what happened to that one

Thank you long hedgetrimmers!

A couple nights later I found yet ANOTHER snake in the brooder! I didn't take a picture of that one. It looks the same as the other ones, so why bother.

The chicks have been released from the brooder at this time.

Just tonight, I go out and there's yet ANOTHER snake making its way into my coop. Dangit! What the heck? (Except I didn't say Dangit or heck. I think I also said some other things that I'm not proud of but just escape from your body when you see a snake.) So, I killed that one too, which was much scarier because its mouth or belly wasn't full of anything. It was dark and I had to run away and get a grip at one point. On top of that, there is poison ivy EVERYWHERE!. The only thing I can say is.....Stupid snake repellant!
I am, however, becoming quite proficient at snake removal. And ironically, I now have 10 baby chicks! So I guess it all worked out for the best.

So, that's what's been going on with me.

Hmmm...what else? Oh yeah. I almost went to jail. We started selling hot tubs at the store. I went to Arkansas on a business trip. My mom thought I was going to get lost there. I didn't. I almost killed myself on a zero turn radius lawn mower. Aaaaaaannnnddd I got instagram for my android phone!

To keep with the theme, I'm sharing a recipe. I may or may not have already shared it. I don't know. Pioneer Woman also recently shared this recipe but trust me. It was mine first! I got this recipe over 20 years ago from my mom. She and her friend made these for my dad's birthday one year and it was a HUGE hit. The friend started making them and selling them in her bar and refused to give me the recipe. My mom said "She wouldn't give you the recipe?!? What the heck/ (except my mom doesn't say heck) Its on the bottle of the hot sauce!" Its on the bottle of Franks RedHot to be exact.  But, I'll give it to you anyway so you don't have to read the tiny writing on the hot sauce bottle. Its because I care so much. You're welcome.

Hot Wings:

5# cut up chicken wing pieces (yes 5#. Trust me)
1 bottle of Franks RedHot sauce (NOT the buffalo wing sauce!)
about 2T butter
oil for frying

Fry the wings in the hot oil. drain on paper towels.
In a saucepan or microwave, heat up the hot sauce and butter. (Do NOT breathe!! Its hot and you'll choke on the fumes. I wish someone told me that little tidbit! Again. You're welcome) Put the wings in a large bowl and pour the sauce over them. Stir to coat the wings and serve with Ranch dressing. You can use Blue Cheese if you prefer but here in Texas we like our Ranch. Then, and this is important. Not quite as important as not breathing and choking, but almost. Set the bowl down in front of your hungry men and then move back and get your hands out of the way quickly!

Okay. So that's it for now. I'll catch you up later on everything else. In the meantime, tell me what you've been up to.

This post is linked to Fight Back Friday and Barn Hop. Check 'em out!

Granny P's Dumplings

In the south, dumplings are a staple in the winter diet. In addition to that, southern women take pride in their dumplings more than anything else. You can tell a southern woman that her children are unruly and she will "yank a knot in their butt". But, you tell her that her dumplings suck and well....I almost don't want to tell you its so scary. Just....run. Beware...and..RUN!!!

My Granny P has 'em all beat. Hands down. They are the best. Her last name is Pitman. That's where the P comes from. I didn't know that all going up. In fact, I never even questioned it. Honestly, as a kid I thought her name was Granny Pee. Like she had bladder issues or something. She doesn't. Well...I don't know. She's no spring chicken, so she might. But, I do know that back then she didn't. My other Granny's name was Granny Grunt. I never questioned that either up until a few years ago. I mentioned something about my granny and Robbie said "which one?" and I said "Granny Grunt". He asked "Doesn't it bother her that ya'll call her that?" to which I replied all annoyed "Pffft! No. Why would it bother her??? That's her name." Then, I thought about it a minute and thought 'hmmmmm....I never thought about.....I wonder if it DOES bother her. We've been calling her that for 40 years and she's never said anything.' So I asked my mom. She giggled and said "It used to bother her but not anymore." to which I asked "Soooo...if it bothered her, why did we start calling her that?" and she said "Cuz your dad and I thought it was funny."

Well, okay then.

It reminds me of my first job out of high school. I worked at a daycare center with 3 and 4 year olds. We had a substitute come in and ask a little boy who lived with his dad and grandma about his family. She asked him his dad's name. He told her. She asked him his mom's name. He said "I don't have a mom. I have a Nana." She said "What's your Nana's name?" to which he replied "She doesn't have a name......that's why we call her Nana."

My friend Melanie has her grandkids call her Bubbles. How fun is that???

My mom's name is Betty Jo. She doesn't like to be called Betty so everyone calls her Jo or Jody. My brother and I have our kids call her Mammy Jo. We think its cute. In light of the Granny Grunt issue though maybe we should have had them call her Betty Poop!! Its called karma. Its a........well, you know. Oh well. She lucked out because we're such great kids.

Whether you have a Granny, a Nana, a Wicked Stepmother, or a Labrador Retriever.....You're gonna love this!

Granny P's Dumplings

(This makes a lot, so you need a big pot)


1 whole chicken

6C flour
2t baking powder
3T salt
1C butter
6 eggs
 up to 1C water

In a big pot, boil your chicken in water. When the chicken is cooked pull it out and let it cool. shred loosely the meat from the chicken, season with salt and pepper to be added back in later.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until it looks like pea sized grains in the flour. Make a well in the center. Add eggs and about 1/3c of the water. Use a fork to beat the eggs and water pulling in the flour mixture from the sides. Continue mixing and adding more water as needed. If it gets too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour. Once its in a ball, knead the dough until its easy to work by hand, just a few minutes. You don't want it too sticky or too dry. Its very forgiving though. You can add more water or flour as needed to make it "kneadable".  Pinch off  marble sized pieces, roll it longways, so its about the size of your finger. Then flatten them out, lay them out until they're all done. Its a little time consuming but worth it. Have the kids help. They love it.

Bring your chicken broth to a boil. Drop in dumplings without overcrowding the pot. They need room to "roll". Stir, cover, lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

My favorite part is they are not creamy. They are very brothy and delicious. My family's favorite.

Thanks Granny P!!! :)

Tell me what you call your grandma and your favorite thing she makes.

This is linked to Sunday Night Soup Night

Homemade Egg Rolls = Better Than Restaurant

All day yesterday, I felt like I wasn't getting anything done.

Here's what I did:

3 loads of laundry
fed and watered all the animals
washed 2 loads of dishes
made 4 acai bead bracelets (They're beautiful! I'll share later this week)
blogged about preparing Emergency Meals, Preparedness
knitted a few rows of a cashmere scarf I'm making for a Christmas present
prepared meals
made chicken stock in the crock pot with a leftover chicken
made a pumpkin pie with homemade crust
used the extra crust to make homemade apricot toaster pastries (There are none left!!)
whipped up some whipped cream with fresh, organic cream to go on said pie
bought and hooked up a new Blue-Ray, DVD player
AND I made those little beauties in the picture above!!

That seems like a lot! I was feeling bothered yesterday wondering how I could have done all that and still be feeling like I needed to do more. I think I figured it out. It could be one of two things.
1 -  There is still so much more that NEEDS to be done and maybe I should be doing those things instead of pinning on pinterest, blogging, and checking my facebook updates. To be fair, though, since fb changed I don't get on there as much as I used to. And even more so, since pinterest!! Pinterest is waaaaay more fun than facebook and its actually useful! The eggroll recipe I'm about to share came from there.

or

2 - I work so hard at my job (We work 6 days a week in the spring and summer balls to the wall. In the fall and winter it slows down and we are closed now on Sundays and Mondays. This is the first Monday that I haven't had to go in to work to do something.) maybe I have a hard time turning that off! I'm not sure. I'm hoping its this. Because if it is, then that will eventually go away. Probably right about the time when spring hits!! The whole not having everything done gives me a little anxiety.

Okay enough of that. I teased you with the intriguing headline (because honestly...who DOESN'T love a good eggroll? Especially if you can make them yourself without all the preservatives that comes from the restaurants.) then held you hostage and made you listen read my little anxiety disordered filled day. Sometimes a girl just needs a hug..even if you have to force someone to give it to you! :)

I found this recipe on pinterest and I just have to say WOW! I am not exxagerating when I say that they really are better than restaurant egg rolls. Here is the link to the original recipe. I tweaked it just a little to make it a little healthier. I didn't tweak it much, though, as its pretty perfect just like it is.

Ingredients:

1# ground pork
4C finely shredded cabbage
2C matchstick carrots
8oz pkg bean sprouts
6 chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2T freshly chopped cilantro
1t freshly grated ginger
1T oyster sauce
1T hoisin sauce
1 pkg egg roll wrappers

Fat for frying them

I used ghee because thats what I had. I would definitely plan ahead and use lard next time, though. A good lard, not the junk from the grocery store. I'm on the lookout for duck fat and pastured pork lard. When I find it, I'll let you know. I'm told that Central Market has duck fat. The nearest one to me is about 60 miles so I haven't checked it out yet.

Take about 2T of the fat and swirl it around in a big pot, add the pork and brown it. Then add your vegetables, Cook about 10 minutes until softened. Add the spices and cook another 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool a little.

Heat up your fat.

Lay out your wrappers with one corner facing you like a diamond. Put about 2 spoonfuls of filling close to your end of the diamond. Roll your corner over the filling. Then, roll the 2 outside corners in and roll so you're only left with the last corner at the top (like an envelope flap) brush water over the flap so it will seal. Finish rolling. Then use your brush (or your finger) to wet the seams to seal the whole thing.

Place your egg rolls in the hot oil and fry about 3 minutes until they're a nice golden color.
Drain on paper towels.

Here's the last and most important piece of this recipe......

BE CAREFUL!! They're hot! and delicious! and addicitive! and your family won't be able to stop hugging you.

So, there's my little eggrolly hug for you!


This post is linked to Homestead Revivals Barn Hop  and The Healthy Home Economist Monday Mania and Fight Back Friday

Perfect Chocolate Cake

Yesterday, I went to the Pearson family reunion. It was great! I always find family reunions to be interesting. I wish MY family had more reunions. I asked my parents one time why we didn't have them and my dad said "Because nobody in our family can stand each other!!!" He was joking of course. But, still...Family reunions are so much fun. I find all the family history really cool!

Melanie's mom suggested that we all jump in an RV and travel around just crashing family reunions. You know you'd eat really well! And if anyone asks, you just say "I'm with Uncle George's side of the family" Everyone has an Uncle George. Although, in my neck of the woods, maybe an Uncle JC or Cooter, or Bubba, or Joe Dan, or some other 3 named person! :) Either way. I think its the best idea I've ever heard!

Last week I asked Robbie's step-mom if I should bring anything because I knew BBQ was being catered. She said "Some of the ladies bring a dessert. Its up to you." I told Robbie that I didn't know what that means. He looked at me like I'm retarded and said "What do you mean, you don't know what it means? It means 'You're a lady....bring a dessert!'

That's not what it means but I did anyway. I'm glad I did too. There weren't that many desserts, even though there were lots of ladies.
I found this Black Magic Cake on Pinterest and Melanie said she made it and it was easy and delicious. She said it was decadently rich and sweet. So, I made it but decided to make a cream cheese frosting to put on it and it was PERFECT!!!! It went fast too!!! Which is what a lady looks for in a dessert that she brings to a big family function! :)

Here is the recipe:

Cake:
1 3/4C flour
2C sugar
3/4C cocoa
2t baking soda
1t baking powder
1t salt
2 eggs
1C strong coffee, cooled
1C buttermilk
1/2C veg oil
1t real vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan. (I grease the pan and then mix some flour, sugar, and cocoa to flour the pan. I don't like a "floury" cake.)

In a large bowl (I use the same bowl that made the "pan flour", just make sure to dump it all in the pan) combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.

Beat at med speed for 2 minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pan. It will be thin.

Bake for 30-40min.
If you're using a glass pan, reduce heat to 325 and bake 35-45min.

If you want the link to the cake with the chocolate frosting you can see it Here. Its from a cooking blog called Justapinch.  The picture at the top of this post is from that blog. I didn't think to snap a pic of mine and like I said....It went FAST! I thought about making it again soon just to get the pic but I have soooooo many other things from my Pinterest account that I wanna make and my figure can't handle all that baking at once!! So, you're stuck with this picture. Just imagine how beautiful it is with a cream cheese frosting! :)


 Here is the recipe for the cream cheese frosting:

16 oz cream cheese at room temp
2 sticks butter, softened
3C powdered sugar
3T cream
2t vanilla

In a large bowl, whip the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the sugar and whip to combine. Add the cream and vanilla. Whip about 2 minutes until the frosting is smooth and soft peaks begin to form.

Frost the cooled cake.

Set it down in front of your awed crowd of eaters and stand back. Seriously. Get your hands out of the way quickly before someone jabs a fork into them. Because I'm telling you......It goes FAST!!!! which is what you're really looking for in a cake recipe. :)