tasty tuesday

Maple Bacon Kettle Corn

here's what you need...

4 slices bacon, cooked, fat reserved

1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup cooking fat (use the reserved bacon fat and extra olive or vegetable oil to make 1/4 cup of popcorn cooking fat)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt (depending on your taste)

Cook off bacon until brown and crisp. Set aside to cool. Once cool, chop into small bits and toss with maple syrup.

Carefully measure out the hot bacon grease. If you don’t have 1/4 cup of fat, add some vegetable or canola oil to make 1/4 cup of oil for cooking the popcorn.

In a large pan over medium high heat, heat the bacon fat and oil mixture. Add the corn kernels. Sprinkle over the sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and wait for the popping to begin.

Once the popping begins, use two good pot holders the hold together the pan and the lid and shake the pot. Feel free to take the pot off the flame to give it a good shake. Just be careful and then return the pot to the flame. Shake often throughout the popping process. This will help ensure that the sugar doesn’t burn the pan and the popcorn.

Once finished popping remove the lid and salt with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon more salt. Use a large spoon to stir the popcorn. You don’t want the hope sugar to burn you. Pour in the bacon and maple mixture. Toss together and serve.

another recipe from http://www.joythebaker.com/
(one of my favorite sites for recipes!)

bite me....

last night i was talking to my mom and i told her that fernando decided he needed to shave and shower right when i wanted to have a nap. since he had a show last night i decided to just suck it up and occupy myself until he was done and have a later nap. i then told her that i decided to give sullivan (refugee cat) a hair cut. it was a fairly successful hair cut until he bit me when i was about 3/4 way finished so i decided that i had sat uncomfortably on the floor for long enough and since he did not appreciate my efforts that i would just leave him looking like a swamp monster and not finish his haircut. somehow, my mom while clanking around pots and pans while doing dishes didn't hear me say SULLIVAN. she thought that fernando bit me when i was cutting his hair (i cut his before the cat got his turn) and that i left his hair half finished. she then told my dad that fernando bit me (i didn't hear her say that it was fernando) and they wanted to know why and where... i explained that he just didn't like getting his hair cut and i wasn't really surprised.

i couldn't figure out why they were so upset that sullivan bit me on the arm when i was shaving him... anyone who's ever given a cat a haircut would expect some sort of fight... its about as high up on their favorites list as taking a bath! i was defending him and told them that he didn't bite me very hard and that it didn't even leave a mark...

then my mom said that she couldn't believe that fernando would do that to me... my response was "what? mess up my nap?! that's kinda how he rolls" she exclaimed "no i can't belive he bit you when you were cutting his hair!"
at this point i nearly peed my pants laughing.

she was washing/drying dishes while she talked to me and  while she clanked dishes around she didn't hear me say sullivan. so the entire time she though fernando bit me and couldn't understand why i wasn't angry. my dad was ready to sit fernando down and have a stern word with him.

i laughed so hard that i was crying.
then i called fernando and told him the story... laughing the whole time.

all that entertainment came from shaving a cat. not that i would recommend a DIY kitty haircut... be prepared for a fight.

thanks sullivan for being a hairy beast.

this is his unfinished hair cut. he looks ridiculous. i don't care.
he's running around like a happy kitten now. i don't think he cares one bit what his hair looks like... only that it feels a thousand times better.

this is what was left on the floor after he scrambled through it in an attempt to escape me.  it was an entire white kitchen garbage bag FULL once i collected the bits of it from all over the floor.. he's a big cat and he's got a LOT of hair.

19 weeks!

almost half way there! the sea monkey is now about the size of a mango. approximately 6 inches long and around nine ounces.

wonder which mango is the closest match?

baby's hearing is developing and now Fernando is talking to my belly. i guess its better than him talking to my boobs like he has been the last 3 months... right?

i'm starting to feel more movement... mostly when i'm in bed trying to sleep. but it surprises me sometimes when i'm least expecting it. it's a strange feeling, but very comforting. it's not strong enough to feel by touching my stomach yet, but i'm guessing it will be soon.

thursday is ultrasound day and i'm excited for that!

Froggy Friday

ok. i have decided i want to give frogs another try. i still miss Buzz but it has been 9 months since he died and i am ready to get some new swimmers.
my debate now....
African Clawed?

albino African Clawed?

 or maybe one of each?

i have a harder time with the regular African Clawed Frogs because thats what Buzz was.
i still miss him but its time to move on. now i should be able to have more than one frog since Buzz was abnormally agressive and killed everything in site. now i should be able to have 3 or 4 in my tank as long as they are around the same size. fingers crossed on that!

big time complainer...

yesterday fernando told me that he should be in my blog more... and that i should tell everyone all the awesome things he does for me.
i will give him credit where credit is due.
the gift certificate i mentioned earlier this week that i got for motherhood maternity for mother's day... that was from him. he would like everyone to know this.
Also, he is sometimes has been better around the house cleaning up after himself and doing chores.
other times i want to toss him out in the backyard with the dogs and let him sleep in the hammock.
he looks like he belongs in a hammock sometimes

ps. i know you will read this fernando so please make note. do more awesome things and i will write more in my blog about your awesomeness. ok, thats all... thanks.

did you know...

Froggy!!! Holds my pens like a pro., a photo by Kabukikreations on Flickr.

little known fact... i LOVE these vintage kitchen frogs.
i use them for everything. i have 2 at my kitchen sink, one in my bathroom that holds all my eyeliners, and scattered anywhere i can think of.
any time i find one at a garage sale i feel like i have struck gold!

bump day - week 18

its bump day again!

almost forgot about it... i completely forgot that yesterday was tuesday and not monday.

can i just blame it on "baby brain" or am i on the hook for that one?

lets blame it on the sea monkey.

not the greatest shirt for a bump picture... but its getting to the point where there's no disguising it. not that i want to, but up until the last couple weeks i wasn't to the point where my stomach showed in a lot of my shirts. now i think its pretty obvious that things are growing. this is one of my new maternity shirts i bought on the weekend. this one was courtesy of H&M. i will probably continue to wear it when i'm not pregnant. it is just really long. its not longer in the front than the back so if it doesn't stay all stretched out from the beach ball sized stomach that will be stuffed into it a few months from now i will probably keep it in regular rotation because i think its a great print.

since i forgot about taking the pictures at home before i left this morning and took today's pictures at work i didn't think i should take off my shirt in case someone walked in... maybe next week.

 

another thing that is pretty frequent... i have been feeling my abs stretching and groaning. i was warned by my doctor to expect that so i was just waiting for it to start.... and it has. with a vengeance.

sneezing is hideous! and i sneeze a lot this time of year. thankfully the sea monkey has given me super human strength when it comes to my allergies. i haven't had to take any allergy medicine this spring. normally i would not survive spring without benadryl. even mosquito bites are gone by the next day. in the past if i got a mosquito bite it would be there for about a month... minimum. i could get used to them going away over night!

18 weeks...

this week the sea monkey approximately the size of a sweet potato.

speaking of sweet potato...
i had some delicious sweet potato fries on the weekend. mmmmm.... YUM! and the Po'Boy that went with
them was also so tasty! DaDeO never disappoints me. click on the picture to go to their site and check out the super delicious menu.

i'm very food motivated lately. and i've always been very food motivated. i find myself constantly looking forward to the next chance i get to eat... even when i'm already eating something. like right now... i'm eating a dish of strawberries and thinking about what i will have for lunch.

i've noticed a bigger change in my belly size... i popped a little.  my pre-preggers jeans almost all still fit but now that i've tried out the maternity pants, nothing really compares because they are SO comfortable!

i did a bit of shopping on the weekend. i have added a jean skirt, jean shorts, cropped leggins, 2 short sleeved shirts and a long tank top, 3 dresses and 6 pairs of comfy shorts for around the house and yardwork.

all together i spent $172 but $100 was a gift certificate i got for mothers day for Motherhood Maternity. the other $70 was at a few other stores.

all in all i think it was pretty successful sale shopping. i shouldn't need too much else. i might need a few more shirts once i start getting really big, but that won't be for a while so i'll worry about that once i start getting really big!

one other thing i've noticed is that my knees are getting sore. i have read to expect joint pain... but my knees have been so good for the last while that i'm not looking forward to them being bad again. fingers crossed that i just had a bad knee day on saturday and they'll be fine.

hope everyone had a great long weekend!

tasty tuesday- the lazy way.

i saw this and i instantly knew that i must try it.

next cake i make will be wearing my attempt at this icing job.

tutorial and more pictures can be found here

foto friday - baby momma edition

DIY braided wrap bracelet

ok. i haven't posted one of these for a while...
this is a super fun summer bracelet and a great way to use up scraps of fabric and old shirts.

 

start out by cutting your strips of fabric. if you are going to use chain you will only need 2 strips of fabric. if you don't want to add chain to your bracelet just cut 3 fabric strips.

i like to use fabrics that stretch and don't fray. if you're using something that will fray just grab your trusty bottle of fray-check or melt the edges if you're using a synthetic fabric that will melt nicely.

depending on the fabric and the look that you're aiming for i would cut the fabric strips 1-3" wide.

pin the ends and chain together with a big safety pin and then pin it to something secure (the couch or my pants usually). braid the entire length of fabric and chain (or just fabric).  

here is where i veered off the path of the tutorial i originally got the idea from... that tutorial told me to leave 3-4" tails at both ends and tie it all together to make one long loop you could wrap around your wrist as many times as you liked. (just like in the picture above)

i don't like the ends to stick out. i think it looks messy. sure you could trim them down, but then there would be nubs. i prefer to braid the fabric from the very start to the very end and then sew it closed. its all neat and tidy. if you make your bracelet without the chain you can machine stitch the ends, but because i normally use the chain i just hand sew it. if you want the tails at the end of the bracelet then leave the ends long and knot away.

depending on the bracelet i have in mind and the kind of fabric i'm using sometimes i slide beads onto the fabric to be braided in. then i add charms to the chain with jump rings. you can add as many or as few as you like.

this is a pretty vague set of instructions but its a fun way to use up scraps and a great opportunity to let your imagination run wild!

if my weekend is as productive as i'm hoping i'll have some new ones listed in my etsy shop http://www.kabukikreations.etsy.com/

 happy crafting

xoxox

kabukikreations

bump day - week 17

i'm pretty proud of myself for actually getting bump day posted each week so far... i'm notorious for blog slacking.

here is bump version 5.18.11

sorry for the kitty hair. chico wanted to cuddle. i forgot to lint roller before i took the picture today. this is my life. covered in cat hair.

just incase you haven't read my other post... i LOVE my maternity jeans! they're super cute and soooooooo comfy. i think i prefer them to normal jeans even before i got pregnant. they're that awesome. i want to buy more. i was a bit nervous buying jeans on ebay... especially maternity jeans since i know NOTHING about them, but they are perfect! lots of room to grow still.
time for a bit more shopping.

last night before i went to bed i called fernando and put him on speaker phone so he could listen to sea monkey's heartbeat and say goodnight. hearing that little heartbeat will never get old. exciting every time.
its really easy to find the heartbeat now with the doppler... pretty much just plunk it down and there's the heartbeat. did i mention how exciting that is?!

tasty tuesday

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

For the Bacon:


10 slices of bacon
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and line with foil. Arrange bacon in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Place in the upper third of the oven and bake until sugar is caramelized and bacon is brown and crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately remove bacon slices using a pair of tongs. Place them on a cutting board (not paper towels, they’ll stick!) to cool before chopping. Once cool, chop the bacon into bite size bits and set aside.

For the Waffles:


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cups canola or grapeseed oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups buttermilk

*If you don’t eat bacon for some reason, try adding 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the batter. Yum!

Set up your waffle iron on a level, clean surface and turn on to preheat.
In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. Whisk to blend. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold. Once almost fully incorporated, add the bacon bites. Stir. Try not to over mix the batter or the waffles will become tough. It’s ok if a few lumps remain in the batter.
Cook according to your waffle machine instructions.

Serve with maple syrup.

recipe from http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/


My possibly helpful notes...

i usually only make a half recipe of this.  its waaaaay too many waffles otherwise!
if you don't have buttermilk (i never do) here's a little trick... mix one tbsp lemon juice or vinegar with one cup milk and let stand for 5 minutes. voila! buttermilk without having to run to the store.

or if you have a favorite waffle recipe (my mom's is my favorite) use that instead and just add the brown sugar bacon.

make extra brown sugar bacon to snack on while you're cooking the waffles... it is SO tasty!

enjoy!

17 weeks...

this week's fruit/veggy comparison... an onion.
i don't like onions that much.


 

actually...that's not totally true... i do like onions like this.

the little sea monkey is now nearly 5.5 inches (13 cm) long from crown to rump and weighs approximately 5 ounces (140 grams). Its skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage, which will harden later

i'm feeling better... not quite so tired as i have been the last few months. i proved to myself that i can still accomplish a lot even though i need to sleep more! i worked a 3 day craft sale this weekend. a full friday, saturday and sunday. i was tired each night but it was totally worth it. the sea monkey fund is growing and growing. my next craft sale is the Handmade Mafia market on May 28th.

Fernando says i'm glowing and he smiles a lot when he looks at me. i'm not sure if it is because i'm "glowing" like he says, or because my boobs have gotten so much bigger! can't blame him though... i totally caught myself checking them out the other day in the elevator at work. they're big enough now that i can totally look down my shirt by looking up at the mirror on the ceiling of the elevator.

i've started wearing my maternity jeans. they are SO comfortable! i LOVE them. i am seriously considering wearing them all the time. even once i'm not pregnant. they're THAT COMFY!

bump day - week 16

what i have discovered today is that it all depends on the angle.
i just took these pictures and i turned a little bit more one way and BAM i look HUGE!
see for yourself.

 

and BAM! must have been taking a big breath or something.

since these were all taken within about a minute of each other i don't think i grew that quickly... but its just a preview of what's to come i'm sure. it its growth spurt time for the sea monkey so i'll be expanding a bit more the next few weeks... goodbye jeans.

tasty tuesday... a stolen recipe

well... this recipe is straight from someone else's blog.
i know it is a good one because other than her super uncool dislike for cilantro i would like pretty much anything vouched for here. http://shawnandtashatompkins.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

well here it is.
i can't wait until i have time to make these!

Blueberry Lime Muffins



•2-1/4 cups flour

•1 cup sugar

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

•1/4 teaspoon baking soda

•1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

•grated zest from one lime

•Juice from one lime

•2 eggs

•1/2 cup milk

•1-1/2 cups blueberries

1.Preheat oven to 400F

2.Line muffin cups with liners

3.Mix dry ingredients and set aside (add the zest in with the dry ingredients)

4.Mix wet ingredients, including the lime juice, until well blended

5.Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and blend quickly. fold in blueberries carefully

6.Spoon into muffin cups and sprinkle with a little sugar

7.Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes

8.Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before serving. This helps them to firm up.

Makes 12

16 weeks

sea monkey is now about the size of an avocado.
in the next few weeks sea monkey will go through a big growth spurt... doubling in weight and also increasing significantly length wise. soooo... i will probably be saying farewell to some more of my jeans. i'm ok with that. right now i feel like i'm at that phase where people can't necessarily tell that i'm pregnant by looking at me but if they know what size i was a couple months ago they'll just think i got fat. the bump is starting to get a bit more defined though so i don't think it will be long before people KNOW that i'm pregnant at a glance. my weight hasn't actually changed that much so far but things are definitely shifting around.
i had a doctor's appointment on friday afternoon and things are all good. strong heartbeat... of 140. according to old wives tales anything above 140 means girl and anything below means boy... i don't really believe that but it is funny how it just happens to be right on the deciding number.
we are not finding out if sea monkey is a he or she so i guess this is just one more way to keep it mysterious.

i should learn to keep my mouth shut.

yesterday i announced that i haven't been wanting anything sweet.
BAD IDEA!
about halfway through the afternoon yesterday i started fixating on cheesecake.
last night i almost went out in my ugly plaid pants to get some.
i'm not joking about the ugliness of these pants.
let me paint you a picture here...
i got them from Santa in about grade 8. they are small men's flannel PJ pants. probably purchased at costco made by elves at the north pole. navy blue and jade green plaid (i know... you all must be jealous). they are too short by a couple inches if i wear them really low. they seem to be indestructible... these things are a good 15 years old and not even getting close to being threadbare. they are comfortable though so i just keep wearing them.

i still want cheesecake.
i may have to stop and get one on my way home. this will prevent me from considering going out in public in the ugly pants.

bump day - week 15

its bump day!
please excuse the fact that my pants seem to be riding a bit low causing a small case of muffin top. it was early. i was barely awake.


a little help from my assistant Chico



first front picture...
not to much to report yet but i thought i'd throw it in. i think i just look a bit puffy at first glance.
ps. my stomach is not dirty and i did not have a self tanning mishap. that spot is just there.
get used to it. you'll be seeing more of it.

a couple other updates...

i think the sea monkey LOVES carbs. i would have never eaten dry cereal or crackers as a snack before... now i'm picking stuff like that over chocolate. i have almost no interest in sweet things. i'm pretty sure i would make an exception for things like cheesecake. i also love cheese now more than ever. cheese and crackers may be my favorite snack.

another thing i've learned... pee before leaving work. it really sucks getting half way home and all of a sudden needing to pee. it makes an already long-ish drive much worse. yesterday only took me about half an hour to get home (which is pretty awesome) but it felt like FOREVER because about 10 minutes into the drive my newly miniature bladder started complaining. lesson learned.

tasty tuesday

this is an easy one. i'm enjoying right now as i type this post.

coconut creamed wheat.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp creamed wheat porridge
1 cup milk
3 tbsp toasted coconut
1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions
mix everything together in a microwaveable dish.
cook for 1 minute on high
stir
cook for 1-2 minutes (depending on your microwave) stirring every 30 seconds until creamy.
let sit for a minute and ENJOY!

i just made this "recipe" up this morning and if i wasn't sitting at my desk eating it out of an ugly ziploc container i would post a picture. maybe i will do an photo update when i eat it out of a real dish one day. i will be making this again. its great for my ravenous morning eating. i actually planned to eat it on my way to work but i forgot my spoon.

this recipe was inspired by this banana coconut oatmeal recipe here
i was thinking about adding banana but the ones i had at home were not ripe enough for me to consider eating. fernando is eating them, but i just eats the ones he leaves to long... i don't like them until they have brown spots. then they taste like bananas. when they're just yellow they make my teeth feel funny.

i might try adding crushed pineapple to this... pina coloda creamed wheat might be delicious. maybe not.... only one way to find out.

15 weeks...

this week the sea monkey is about the size of a navel orange.

i'm noticing a bit more of a bulge and have now had to retire a pair of capris that i wanted to wear on saturday for the first time this spring... no luck. i could barely get them done up. i'm starting to think that non stretchy pants might just be the enemy.
a completely unrelated clothing woe.... my very favorite pair of jeans are starting to wear out. i kill jeans quickly. i don't have skinny legs and apparently walk too much because i can blow out the legs in pants within a year if i wear the the pants once a week. does this happen to other people or am i just the destroyer of pants? i guess this is an example of what i used to so lovingly refer to as "thunder thighs."

back to the sea monkey though...
i just CAN'T STOP EATING! i have had a snack, breakfast and another snack and its barely past 11am.
thankfully this doesn't go on all day or i may not fit through the door by the end of the week. i'll eat constantly until about 2 in the afternoon then won't be hungry until dinner around 8:00. i used to be a late night snacker but now for the most part i will only have dinner and maybe a little treat an hour later as dessert. i'm just not hungry at night. i guess all the food i've stockpiled throughout the day is doing its job. if i ate snacks at night like i do all morning i probably wouldn't be able to sleep!

Ultrasound is booked for June 2nd. i'm excited for that appointment. not so excited to drink 6 glasses of water an hour and a half before my appointment and not pee until after the appointment. that is going to suck!

that's all for now!