Hot Chocolate's NOT The Greatest, I still really like it though

Are you one of the many people who grew up Mormon and fully believe that Hot Chocolate is the tastiest, yummiest warm winter drink??? I was that person. But I have discovered that Hot Chocolate is not at the top of the yummiest warm winter drink list.
I don't drink alcohol and I detest cafeen.
So what is at the top of the list?
Apple cider, you say? Nope.
Decaf (I hate cafeen) Chai tea with a little bit of turbinado sugar and some coffee creamer. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I recently found a recipe for Chai tea that I havn't tried yet. Here it is so that I always have it as long as I have the internet.

Boil 5 minutes, then steep 10 minutes:

1 Tbsp fennel or anise seed
6 green cardamom pods
12 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4" ginger root, sliced thin
1/4 tsp black pepper corns (Oh yeah, pepper, so good)
2 bay leaves
7 Cups water

Add, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes:

2 Tbsp Darjeeling tea (or my favorite decaf black or white tea)

Add:

6 Tbsp honey or brown sugar
1 Cup milk

You know what I think? I think allspice would be awsome in this tea too. I bet you could get away with pumpkin spice too.
You know what else I think? I think I can take all the top ingredients and steep them by themselves without any Darjeeling or whatever. Yeah, I bet that's pretty tasty.
And you know what else? Cardimom is freakin expensive! Holy crap. I thought 6-8 bucks for anise was high. Nope. $14 for a little bity thingy of cardimom is high.
This is why I havn't tried this recipe yet... but I will cuz someday I is gonna be RICH! Then I'm gonna buy two cardimom thingies. Yes!
I still love Hot chocolate, inspite of the cafeen content (if its good, its real chocolate. And that means cafeen)
Now that I'm sitting here posting about this, I'm wondering... Does anybody out there make a decafinated hot chocolate using real chocolate?
Hmmm. Time for a google.

My boy is so creative, just like his sisters

I just washed one of the girls shiny Christmas dresses. I took it to their room so they would put it away. I even told them to put it away, just in case they didn't know why it was there.

Anyway, a couple of hours later Cookie came out wearing the dress, but not in the traditional way.

He has decided that this pretty dress is really his super cape. The hook from my mixer is his hand. So... he's a super pirate? I think.

Cute little stinker. I almost took the dress away from him because I thought he had it around his neck. Nope, he's got it hooked around his arms. I don't know if he understands the concept of choking and strangulation, but he averted it. Pretty clever either way! :) Just like his sisters.

That first incident was a week or so ago; I forgot to take a picture. Fortunatly he's put the dress on several times now, always the same way. So today I got my pictures of Super Pirate.
I need to make him a real cape that hooks around his arms.

Ashley's Birthday

It was little Ashley's birthday yesterday and I just realized that I didn't post about it yet.

One day Ashley looked up at Daddy and said "watch how fast I can run Daddy!"
After the demonstration Daddy agreed that Ashley was indeed very fast to which Ashley replied
"Maybe that's my super power!"
When she first started talking her favorite cartoon was Ba Ba Ke Ke (Spongebob Squarepants)
She didn't cry at all when she was born, she was too busy looking around.
Ashley is every bit as wonderful a big sister as Megan. She is always making sure that she gets one for Cookie if she got something good. I know I never thought of that when I was little. Sometimes I even thought how great it was that I was getting a what-ever-it-is and nobody else was.
If Cookie gets hurt, Ashely runs to him and hugs him before we can a lot of the time. For Megan's birthday, Ashley made her a special card. I didn't even know about it until she gave it to her. She's just thoughtful that way.
My little Ashley. I love you so much. I love the light in your eyes and the love in your heart. I love to hear you laugh and see you smile. I love all the funny things you say. You make me so happy. I hope you had a happy day on your special day.
Mommy

Cute pictures and I finished one mich bag

Here's the finished mich bag, the body of it anyway. I still need to make shells. I'll do that after I finish the bags for my girls.

She

wouldn't

stop to

pose

for a

picture.

This was

all I could

get.

Cookie

refused

to take

his mask

off, even

to eat his

little

candies.

It was

so funny!

Happy Stomach Flu!... er I mean Halloween! :)

Megan got sick on Wednesday. She was still sick with the stomach flu on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday Ashley and Cookie Both got sick. I was up with them all night that night. Megan was supposed to have her birthday party with friends on Friday... that didn't happen. Chris got sick on Friday, he felt awful all weekend.
I went to Daves Health and Nutrition and picked up a homeopathic flu remedy, since I could already feel the impending doom upon myself. It was only a matter of time. I started taking the rememdy on Friday. I got sick on Saturday, but I never threw up. Any time I felt like I was going to throw up, I popped a couple little homeopathic bead dealies under my tongue and in a couple of minuets my stomach was fine. The rest of me still hurt, but my stomach was good. It was nice. I hate throwing up so much. I still don't feel great today, but I didn't get what the rest of my family got.
The homeopathic remedy for the flu is $5.99 at Daves Health and Nutrition 1108 E 3300 S in Murray. I highly recommend it.
Don't store it in the kitchen. Keep the lid on tight. And DONT put it on the microwave! I keep mine in my sock drawer. FYI They'll give you a list of instructions at Daves. Read them if you want the stuff to work.
Anytime I came out of my bedroom into the kitchen or living room, I started getting sick again. It could be all up in my head, but who the heck cares if it works?
Anyway, that was our Halloween, yay...

Here's a Happy Thought

Everybody says they want to write a book someday. Well, most people anyway. But the fact is, very few people are actually capable of doing it.
Out of those very few people who are capable, even fewer still will ever actually write a book.
Out of those who do write a book, most of their books are gonna suck... its true. Even if they have a talent, it's gonna take a few finished books to actually see that talent. Or a lot of rewrites of the first book. Most will stop at one book (and they wont rewrite at all)... or half of one... or half of a couple different books they started at various times. :)
Out of the books written and finished that don't suck, very very few indeed will ever be published by a reputable publisher. That's because the writer doesn't know the right people to have that happen; or they do know the right people but they don't know the exact, precise way to present their book so it doesn't end up in the garbage heap completely untouched. The publishing world is a very very small, picky world. Oh so small. Oh so picky.
So basically no one will ever know, aside from their dearest confidants, that they ever wrote a book and it didn't suck.
That's the happy in me talking.
My alter ego says "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." And "Self-publish if you have to and give the copies to your kids and grandkids. That's pretty cool all by itself. Who needs publishers anyway? Just finish the damned book already and shut up!"
Then my other alter ego says "Aimee did it."
Then my first ego says "Shut up, nobody asked you."
Then both my alter egos go "You shut up, Aimee's awsome..."
Then the first ego says "Yeah... she really is."

The Pie I Made

OH MY GOSH! I usually hate pumpkin pie. Seriously, I can't stand the stuff. That's why I decided to try to make it with a real pumpkin this time. Ooooooooo, it is sooooooooo Goooooood! I'm havin me another piece after the one I'm eating right now!
The canned stuff is nasty. If you ever try the real deal, you'll never use that crap again. For real.