Day 85 ~ Pitching Clinic

My new thing for the day was a pitching clinic with my oldest daughter. I had as much fun as the kids did.

I use to love to pitch. I would pitch for hours against a wall outside our house. It has been years since I have pitched a softball and I didn't realized how much I missed it until I had a chance to play again.

My daughter and I both had a great time and I plan on the next sunshine day I will take my hubby outside and have him catch some pitches, not just my daughters pitches but mine!

Day 84 ~ Dinner Party

Our new thing for the day was a Dinner Party. We had 2 couples over and their children and is was a blast.

I have to say I am so glad we have our new play room. The kids enjoyed playing upstairs with Lego's and things and then we were able to put a movie on later and they all crowed around to watch the show. All the adults were able to eat and visit and it was so nice enjoying the evening together. It made me wonder why we don't have these more often. We normally invite one couple, but was so glad we had more, and I loved sitting around laughing at the craziness of life.

Our new thing for the day was a smaller dinner party. Next attempt is a large BBQ this summer. I can't wait!!

Day 83 ~ Carmel Corn

My husband is the best popcorn maker in town. I don't mean the kind of popcorn you stick in the microwave, I mean the kind you put in a pan with oil cook, my friend comes over sometimes just for my hubby popcorn.

He really outdid himself this time, and we had something new. He made homemade Carmel corn. It was so good you couldn't stop eating it and my mouth waters thinking of it. Here is the recipe he followed but this is not for the weak stomach. I say this because it is impossible to eat less than a huge bowl full. It was DELICIOUS!!

Here is the link and the recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/My-Amish-Friends-Caramel-Corn/Detail.aspx

My Amish Friend's Caramel Corn
7 quarts plain popped popcorn
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional) We skipped the peanuts
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup We used dark
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine We used good old fashion butter!
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans. You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans. Add the peanuts to the popped corn if using. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.

Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.

Day 82 ~ Dessert First!

"Save room for cake!" How often have we all heard this? Our new thing for the day was having our cake to start off dinner.

It was a wonderful day. We spent a hour at the park and another two at a friends. She is one of the best cooks I know and she whipped us up some lemon cake while we sat and visited. It was 5:30and she asked the question, "Do you want me to wrap this up for you so you can have it after dinner or would you like to eat it now?" The mom in me thought we should save it for after dinner, but the fun me blurted out, "CAKE TIME!!!" My kids were so happy, and so was I. Who said cake should come last? I say bah hum bug to them.

Our new thing for the day was cake for dinner and it was AWESOME!

Day 81 ~ My Mom

My mom is the greatest! I admire her so much for so many reason and she is one of the strongest and most compassionate people I know. Over the years my mom has become one of my very best friends and I hope to be half the woman she is someday. I have been writing poetry for years, since I was a child. I wrote something for my mother in college and I never shared it with her and thought I would post it so others could see what a wonderful woman she was and learn a little of her story. Unfortunately, after hours of searching for this poem, I came up empty and realized it must be in one of the boxes in the garage. What I did come across was something I wrote for my mom in Elementary school. It has different words but the same meaning.

My Mom is the Best

My mom is the best because she doesn't have a heartache when my cat breaks her plants. Also because when my dog threw up, she didn't make me clean it up. When I got sick and threw up on her she didn't get mad at me. She doesn't always make me do the dishes. I love my mom very much. She always cares for me and loves me.
By: Jenni

I wrote that some time in Elementary school and after all these years I can still say, My mom is the best.

My new thing for the day is recognizing one of the most important people in my life and letting her know that 35 years later, I still think she is the best.

Day 80 ~ Jewelry

I am so excited about my new thing for the day. I went and got new jewlery, for about next to nothing. I literally got each piece for 1 to 2 dollars on clearance and I love them. They are funky and fun and make me feel a little less out dated. They are different than anything I own but I like that, it makes it a little more fun to wear.
My new thing for the day is my new costume jewlery, and I love it!

Day 79 ~ Play Room

I got this wild idea to make the girls share a room and make the other room into a playroom.

I wondered to myself, after I was done, why haven't I done this before? I put the two youngest in a room together and put all the toys in the other room. I have to say, it is perfect. Once I did it, it was like I wanted to kick myself. Why haven't I done this before, I think I must love to torture myself. Sometimes a little change, works out to be the best move ever. The girls played in there and went to bed with ease. They are so happy to share a room, it was almost surprising.

My new thing for the day was a new play room!