Misc. May Memories

Alex is really into super heroes right now. He's out to get the bad guys with his water gun and batman sunglasses.

Poor hummingbird. This little guy got stuck in our garage. He actually let me catch him. The kids thought it was pretty neat. They each got a turn to hold him before we released him into the big open sky. He was happy to be free.

Bubba, the Birthday Boy!

3 YEARS OLD...

and 3 things I love about my birthday boy (though, there are so many).

1. He knows what he wants and he's not afraid to let you know, too. I think stubborn goes along with this. The kid has a will of IRON. (This also drives me nuts)

2. He is ALL boy, from sports, to guns, to what's cool and what's not, to his deep voice and athletic ability. There is no doubt in my mind that gender comes with genetic attributes.

3. He loves to dress just like his dad.

okay, a couple to grow on (I just can't stop at 3).

4. He is so fun to hug and kiss- very squishy but solid at the same time.

5. He sings songs about what he's happy about. "I'm going to McDonalds today to play..."

"Cool Cars" from grandpa Duke.

He was so anxious for his birthday we let him open this present a day early.
Alex's new "big boy bike". This is all he talked about for months.

The birthday party with friends and neighbors.

Look at that adorable smile with the dimple.

Basketball cake and cupcakes for the little athlete. Orange is also his favorite color.

His first Nerf gun (or any gun). This was the other much talked about request. He's been very good about not shooting at people or animals.

Very own tool set from Grandma and Grandpa Mann.

The traditional birthday pinata.

Also a cool hat.

Race Day and other May Memories

RACE DAY!

Bright and Early!

Alison, Kristin, Tova and I on our way to the Statesville Rotary Triathlon.

Setting up the bike.

The Swim (300 Meters).

Look at me go.

The Bike (11.6 miles).

Me in the blue up a head on the bike.

The Run (5K or 3.1 miles).
Trying to finish strong. I was tired.

The girls.

Me, Kristin, Heather, Cami, Alison.
Thanks for the motivation and training help girls. I couldn't have done it without you.

Surprisingly, I finished 3rd in my age group with a time of 1:22.01.

Way to go #66.

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I am definitely hooked on the sport. Can't wait to do it again.

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After a 20 minute temper tantrum, Alex finally passed out on the kitchen floor.

Tiger modeling the loungewear lingerie, courtesy of Maycie.

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Product from our annual strawberry pick at Linebergers Farm.

Product from our very own farm. The very first fruit of our garden labors. I though our strawberries actually tasted better than the ones we got at Linebergers.

Another Project

I am by no means a professional re upholsterer, but since I'm one of the few who will attempt it I seem get the job title. Out of the 5 or so re upholstery projects I've done, only one has been for myself. This one was my most recent for a friend. It was my best yet. I actually had sew the piece so it fit almost exactly over the chair then I finish the fit by stapling it to the frame.

Happy National Pretzle Day

Happy National Pretzel Day!

I honestly had no idea there was such a holiday until this afternoon when Rob saw the homemade soft pretzels I had made (which are my favorite) and said, "How did you know it was National Pretzel Day?" I guess he had heard it on the radio.
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So here are some fun facts about pretzels:

• National Pretzel Day is always April 26th
• Pretzels are believed to be the worlds oldest snack
• Pretzels date back to 610 AD in Southern France
• Monks baked thin strips of dough into the shape of a child's arms folded in prayer

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How do you like your pretzel?

Personally I like homemade soft pretzels the best. Here's my favorite recipe (and I've tried several):

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp.)
• approximately 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda (yes that's correct)
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• pretzel salt (or coarse salt)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approx. 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from bowl, clean bowl and the oil it with vegetable oil. Return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in warm place for approx. 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Oil or spray baking sheets.

Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 16 equal pieces for smaller pretzels or 8 pieces for larger pretzels. Roll out each piece of dough into a long rope. Twist ends over each other and press onto the bottom of the U to form the pretzel shape.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large, flat spatula is drainage holes. Put pretzel on baking sheet and brush the top of each with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture. You can sprinkle with salt now or wait until baking is complete. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approx. 12 minutes. Cool on rack before serving.

Try dipping in mustard or brushing with butter and adding cinnamon and sugar.

ENJOY!

What I Did This Week

Catch up time.

For the past few weeks I've put off house cleaning, laundry and lingering projects due to a self inflicted project headache for my neighborhood. I've been working on renovating our neighborhood pool. It was in much need of new furniture, umbrellas and structures and you know what they say, if you want a job done right do it yourself. I didn't really trust anyone else to do the job right so I volunteer myself and my dear friend, Sandy, who is an interior designer. We came up with a great plan that included building some pergolas and adding some landscaping as well as new furniture. Since then I've been working hours and hours researching the best prices and styles of furniture, coordinating colors and trying to get it improved by our HOA board. The project is now approved and rolling. We just hope everything gets here in time for opening on Memorial Day weekend. Cross your fingers.

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This week I also got cracking on training. Did I mention I'm signed up to do a triathlon in 3 weeks? It's a "sprint" which means about a 300 meter swim, 11.6 mile bike, and a 5K. I good starters distance. So official training started this week and I was pleasantly surprised by how well I did. Granted I've been going to the gym for a while, but I got in the pool this week to swim laps for the first time since I was a kid. Now my swim is only 300 meters, but long enough that I can't fake it. I was able to swim most of it without stopping. I also got on a road bike for the first time ever this weekend and I must say I'M HOOKED!!! I truly loved the feeling of flying down the road. For a girl who's only done aerobic classes and running for exercise her whole life, this was much loved change. Saturday my training group and I biked 10 miles then ran 5K. I finished strong and it felt good.

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Since Rob was out of town this week, I took advantage by ignoring the house and after catching up on weeks of laundry I was able to catch up on a couple other forgotten projects. I finally finished my chest. I painted it a cream color, added the legs and hardware and distressed the look (since most of my furniture ends up looking distressed on it own). Now I just need to put my sheet music in the drawers.

This is the piece I refinished a year and a half ago. This is definitely my favorite piece. I stained it a dark espresso brown and distressed it. I just wish I would have taken a before picture. It was truly hideous.

Our Garden

After finishing the garden retaining wall too late last year, we finally have a garden this year. Rob has been planting every weekend for over a month and it's really starting to take off.

We have over a dozen tomato plants of different varieties.

I definitely will be doing some canning, salsa and spaghetti sauce later this summer. Send me any great recipes you have. I've never canned by myself before.

Here are the green beans and peas.

Some cucumbers popping up.

Strawberry plants.

Rob and the kids thinning the carrots and green onions.

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We're also growing red onions, green peppers, herbs, summer squash, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn and pumpkins.