And then, for no reason at all, I began to cry.

Big crocodile tears.

Big UNNECESSARY crocodile tears.

What’s going on here? I sobbed.

For some reason, hearing Can’t You Hear My Heart Beat made me imagine my Momma as a little girl.  (She must have been around 10 years old when the song came out.)

Suddenly, I wished very much to know 10-year-old Momma and mourned the fact that 10-year-old me would never get to play dolls or go on picnics with 10-year-old Momma.

(I think we would have been good friends.)

Then I realized that I’ve finally decided on my answer to the popular ice-breaker question:

“If you could have lunch with any person from history, who would it be?”

(I take ice-breaker questions very seriously, in case you were wondering.)

I would love to have lunch with the kid version of my Momma!

We’d munch on peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and chat about our favorite cartoons.  Later, we’d ride our bikes through puddles and laugh as loud as we could.

Momma’s 10-year-old laugh.

That’s a sound I would have loved the chance to hear.

But for now, Herman’s Hermits will have to suffice.

My 3-year-old Momma

[insert sad face here]

Thankfully, I am frugal and frugality leads to creativity!  Therefore, I have decided to paint the plainest of my now-ugly rug collection.

Like most of my project endeavors, this will be a first attempt, but Curbly has an inspiring, step-by-step tutorial.  Now all I have to do is decide which pattern and colors to use!  Here are some fun ideas I am considering:

Once the rug is done, I will loving place it in my sweet white-and-yellow-striped room:

In the meantime, I’ve decided to get said rug cleaned.

Translation: I cleaned that rug my darn self.  Because I am frugal.

Here is how I saved money cleaning my rug myself…

Leilani’s Backyard Rug Cleaning Experience

What I needed:

-A dirty rug (duh)

-A flat, clean surface (I used my deck)

-Large scrubby brush

-Laundry detergent and stain remover

-Hose with spray head attachment

-Nosy cats (for encouragement)

-A breezy, sunny day

Step #1: I liberally sprayed the entire surface of the rug with water.

Step #2: I drizzled the surface of the wet rug with detergent and used stain remover on all icky spots.

Step #3: I got on my hands and knees, and scrubbed to my heart’s content.

Step #4: Thankfully, I had a stray kitty cheerleader.  Unfortunately, the cheerleader kept trying to walk on my clean rug with her dirty paws.

Step #5: My indoor cats wished with all their might to regulate this outdoor cheerleader/imposter.

Step #6: I sprayed all the soap away in a methodical top-to-bottom pattern.  (This is the most efficient method because it pushes the soap suds in one direction and finally over the edge of the rug.)

Step #7: I brushed as much excess water off of the rug as I could with my scrubby brush.

Step #8: Since I was home alone, I had to lift the wet, heavy, cumbersome, #$%@ rug up onto a makeshift drying apparatus by myself.  (Note to self: Patio furniture is very unstable!)

Step #9: I allowed the rug to dry in the sunshine and breeze. Total drying time was only about 5 hours.

Here’s hoping that the rug-painting process goes as smoothly as the rug-cleaning process!

*********************

If you can’t get enough of home improvement projects, visit Jules over at Pancakes and French Fries.  Her William Morris project is helping me stay inspired to keep moving forward!

GASP!

There are so many things I hope to do in this life, but unless I write them down, my hopes will only remain hopes.

And I don’t want to hope…I want to EXPERIENCE!

MY OFFICIAL BUCKET LIST

(In no particular order)

#1. Learn these three dances

So that I can dance them at every party I attend.

Single Ladies

Don’t Tell Me

Thriller (I know some, but not all, of this dance)

#2. Sky Dive…at least once

(I’m not saying I won’t be scared.)

#3. Visit all of my favorite European countries with Dave…at least twice

Favorite countries include: England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, Greece and Norway…and counting!

The White Cliffs of Dover in Dover, England. Can't wait to return!

 #4. Model in a magazine or fashion show

This might be the most difficult to make happen, but it has ALWAYS been a desire!

#5. Shop an open fish and farmers markets in the Pacific Northwest.

#6. Visit a lighthouse in Maine

(I will be crossing this off my list this coming fall!!)

#7. Be a total bad-ass for one night

For me, the best way to be a bad-ass for one night is to attend a Muse concert in London…

…wearing these clothes…

…and this make-up:

A little strange?  Yes!  A little specific?  You betcha!  

But it’s MY bucket list!

#8. Go Salsa Dancing a la Along Came Polly

Every weekend wouldn’t be bad!

#9. Irish dance in an Irish pub

And maybe sing an Irish drinking song or two.

#10. Have my own cooking show or write my own cookbook or maybe just meet Ina Garten

Or maybe all three?

#11.  A bunch of other stuff

Finish reading The Count of Monte Cristo, learn how to make gumbo, buy a gallon of real maple syrup from a country store in Vermont, go on a trip with my Momma and sisters, wear a bikini to the beach, visit the grocery store in my wedding dress (it’s a really comfortable dress) and grow a peach tree.

(For those of you who have never tried a potsticker, it’s a mix between an eggroll and a wonton.)

Sheesh, I love potstickers!!  Their flavor, their texture, their cute little shape–everything about them is deeeelightful.

One thing I do NOT love about potstickers, however,  is that they can be pricey when purchased ready-made.

Fortunately, they are inexpensive to make, and better yet, the recipe makes a lot!

So if you, too, love cute and flavorful food, whip up a (large!) batch of potstickers tonight!

Chicken (or Pork) Potstickers

In a food processor, toss in a couple of uncooked chicken breasts, 3 scallions, 1-2 cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of brown sugar, 1/2″ freshly grated ginger, a teaspoon of rice wine vinegar and a teaspoon of soy sauce.

(Chinese cooking requires a lot of ingredients, okay?)

Pulse on high until the chicken is finely ground and the mixture is uniform.

Do not fear the assembly of potstickers–it is not as hard as it looks!

First, make sure you have a clean and DRY work surface.  (I prefer a large cutting board.)

Line up a large square of wonton wrappers.  (Trust me, it is much quicker to do a whole bunch at once.)

Using a teaspoon measure, place a scoop of the chicken mixture onto the center of each wonton wrapper:

Pour yourself a cup of tepid water.  This is your sealing weapon!

Dip a couple fingers into the water and moisten two edges of the wrapper:

Carefully fold one corner of the wrapper over the filling and seal the edges.  Make sure to press out all air bubbles or they will cause your dumplings to burst during cooking.

Form a small pouch by moistening the edges of the triangle and pressing them inwards:

See how cute?

Don’t worry if your first attempts are less than perfect.  You will get the hang of it!

Heat a couple tablespoons of sesame oil in a non-stick pan over high heat:

Add a layer of potstickers.  Do not crowd the pan or they will not brown as well:

Brown the dumplings on each side until golden brown (5-7 minutes).

Carefully pour about 1/4 cup chicken broth into pan:

Reduce heat to medium and cover.  (My saute pan doesn’t have a lid so I use a cookie sheet.)

Steam for 3-5 minutes until all of the liquid has evaporated:

YUM!!!

But wait…there’s more.

Create the perfect dipping sauce with just these two ingredients:

Nomnomnomgobblegobblenomnom!!

Betcha can’t eat just 20!

(1 large batch of potstickers feeds approximately 1 Leilani.)

The Recipe

Makes 24 potstickers

*6 oz. uncooked chicken breast or pork cutlets, cut into chunks

*3 scallions, cut in half

*1-2 cloves garlic

*1 Tablespoon fish sauce

*1 teaspoon brown sugar

*1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

*1 teaspoon soy sauce

*24 wonton wrappers

*4 Tablespoons sesame oil

*1/2 cup chicken broth

*4 Tablespoons soy sauce

*1-2 Tablespoons chile-garlic sauce

In a food processor, grind the first 7 ingredients until uniformly ground.  Place on teaspoon of the mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper.  Moisten two edges of the wrapper with water (use your finger-tips).  Fold one edge of the wrapper over the filling and seal, pressing out any bubbles.  Moisten edges and fold in to make a little pouch

In a large non-stick skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of sesame oil over high heat.  Add a layer of potstickers to pan, but do not crowd.  Brown on all sides (5-7 minutes).

Carefully pour in 1/4 cup chicken stock into pan and cover.  Reduce heat to medium.

Steam potstickers until all liquid has evaporated (3-5 minutes).

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce and chile-garlic sauce.  Serve with potstickers.

Thoughts that are deep.

Thoughts that are not so deep.

Deep thoughts that need to be explored.

Deep thoughts that hurt too much to explore.

Thoughts that need to be written down before my head explodes.

Thought #1

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” (the message in Dave’s fortune cookie last night)

Thought #2

The weeds in my yard look so pretty right now!  If I transplanted them to a flower bed, would they still be considered weeds?

Thought #3

The best Super Bowl halftime show I have ever watched was Bruce Springsteen in 2010.  He was fresh.  He was real.  He looked like he was having fun.  Above all, he connected with the audience.  Madonna’s act was none of these things, in my opinion.

Thought #4

Dads really care about what their kids have to say.

Thought #5

Dads…really care about what their kids have to say?

Thought #6

Other than pets, I have not experienced death.  I don’t know how that feels.  Someone close to me is dying right now…even then, I am not sure how I feel about it.

Thought #7

Motherhood scares me because I equate it with misery.  So when I see moms enjoying their kids, I feel so confused.  Moms really enjoy being moms?  Motherhood, to me, feels like the ultimate death to self.  I shouldn’t feel that way.  But I do.

This is why I find motherhood so confusing.

Thought #8

I want to eat a whole bag of Oreos before February is over.  Sugar tastes the best in February.

Thought #9

My last meal on earth would have to include: steamed mussels, potstickers, a tossed salad filled with all my favorite vegetables, pickles, cheesy French bread and pizza.  And for dessert: trail mix with a lot of cranberries, pineapple soft-serve ice cream, Thin Mints and Oreos.

Thought #11

“Cats are a representation of the Holy Spirit.”

Grandfather once said this about cats.  I don’t get how the two are alike, but I like the concept.

Thought #12

I don’t think I gave myself enough chances to screw up when I was younger.  I lived life so carefully through my teens and 20′s.  Because of this I am blessed…and bored.

Thought #13

Why do I feel compelled to write?  Why do feel like what I have to say is important?  It feels wrong to want people to read what I write.  It feels selfish.  And yet, I still care.  I care, dammit!

Thought #14

I should have kissed Paolo.

(Paolo was the bellhop in the hotel I stayed in when I studied in London.  He led me up the 54 stairs to my room carrying my bags talking all along the way in a thick Italian accent.  I thought he was the cutest thing in the world.  Damn!  I should have kissed him.  If not on the lips, on the cheek.  And then, when it was over, I should have winked at him.  Yes, nothing like a kiss and a wink to appear intriguing and mysterious.)

Thought #15

I don’t think I have ever come across as intriguing and mysterious.  Intriguing, maybe.  But never mysterious.

Thought #16

I should have tipped Paolo.

Two suitcases, fifty-four stairs and not a single pence for his troubles.  Why did I not think to tip the guy?

Thought #17

Yeah, I should have kissed Paolo.

Here is what the bowels of our shed looked like before its initial purging:

And here is what it looked like after:

I barely made a dent that day…but at least I didn’t unveil any skeletons.

During the second week’s emptying, I discovered a muffin tin:

This and a couple of cracked buckets were the only “treasures” I unearthed out of the whole crusty pile.  [insert "Boo!" here]  At first I thought I might use the muffin tin as a screw and nail organizer, but in the end, I chucked it.  The buckets, however, make handy holding tanks for ashes and compost scraps.

On the third week, I uncovered The Box of Hangers From HELL!!!!

Do you realize how cumbersome it is to dispose of hangers?!! 

True to their nature, hangers hang on everything!  They hung to each other, they hung to the floor boards, they hung to my sleeves.  Needless to say, I had one HECK of a time cramming them into boxes.  Even then, there was not enough room for them in the trash receptacle that week.

By week four, the shed was starting to look empty!

The majority of the bulk was mouse-eaten cardboard boxes which I cut into small pieces and bagged up.  With great pleasure, I disposed of the boxes of hangers and a few garbage bags full of mouse droppings and random bits of trash that covered the shed floor.

No.  These aren’t human baby skeletons.  But I still screamed when they came rolling out of the wood works while I was sweeping.

When I realized that they were just mud dauber nests, I screamed again just to show them who was boss.

This week, I will throw away the bag of cardboard and then, HALLELUJAH!, the shed will be empty!  Then I can finally have it torn down and hauled off!!!

Or…..

…I might do the unthinkable and *gulp* keep the shed!

I know, I know.  I’ve wanted this hunk of junk out of my life since day one…but it would make an excellent chicken coop.

Can’t you just imagine a cluster of chickens roosting up there on that upper timber?

Of course, keeping the shed for a chicken coop means more work (relocating, repairing, painting) but this project is guaranteed to produce treasure: free-range eggs!!!

Here is an idea of how I would like our future chicken coop to look like:

For more on this lovely chicken villa featured in Country Living Magazine, click here!!

P.S.

Since I love starting and completing projects, I have fallen in love with Pancakes and French Fries’ William Morris project.  The gist of this project is to “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

Isn’t that a great philosophy to live by?

Read more about current projects and how the project started here.

“Hey guyz!  I just wanted to announce that I might be pregnant again.  Thatz all!”

Apparently, Misty celebrated Valentine’s Day a little early this year.

When I was a kid, Valentine’s Day was one of the funnest days of the year.  Giving and receiving carefully selected valentines (preferably Animaniacs or Tiny Toons), proudly distributing Momma’s homemade, heart-shaped sugar cookies to my classmates (she would write each student’s name in frosting on their cookie), dressing up in my shiny, pink dress (my go-to Valentine’s Day outfit)–it was all SO MUCH FUN!

Then I entered the 6^th grade….and suddenly Valentine’s Day became one big disappointment.  No more class parties, no more monogrammed cookies, no more fun.

18 years later, I am happily married, and Dave and I have had a lot of fun together…except on Valentine’s Day.  One year, we decided to give in to the Valentine’s Day routine and go out to eat.  Dave got a flat tire on the way to the restaurant.  By the time we made it to the restaurant, the place was packed and we had to wait 45 minutes to eat.  I was starving.  Dave was tired.  Once our food finally arrived, we took two bites, asked for a doggie bag and drove the heck home.

[insert heart-shaped sad face here]

Not.  Fun.

Nevertheless, the desire to enjoy this holiday is still in me.

Therefore, over these past few days, I’ve decided to ignore everything that makes Valentine’s Day depressing and make it fun again!

Here’s how you can, too!

How To Make Valentine’s Day Fun Again

#1. Make your own valentines

Buying a premade card at the store is such a hassle, but creating these cards was good clean fun.  Besides, this way I can squeeze in all the cats I want!

#2. Bake your own valentines

A homemade card is sweet, but homemade raspberry jam thumbprints are even sweeter. 

Especially if they come in a sweet baggie.  I found a package of these cellophane bags at Wal-Mart for $.97.

Now…to deliver these delights to all my friends!

#3. Make some “Pink Elephant Popcorn”

I stumbled upon this photo of pink popcorn on Pinterest (say that 3 times fast!) and was instantly intrigued.

So I made the popcorn.

It turned out weird.

I will not make this again.

But even though the popcorn didn’t taste good, it was gooey, messy, very-pink fun.

#4. Pamper yourself

I even showed my appendages some love with a mani/pedi.  (In pink nail polish, of course!)

Ahh, me time.

#5. Think outside the Date Box

Dave and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th.

We celebrate it whenever we darn well feel like it.

This past Sunday, we felt like it.  I whipped up some french toast and coffee which we enjoyed in front of the fire, and while the snow started to fall outside, we played a game of Scrabble.

Brody made himself a part of the game, too.

The day was so relaxing…I think it was our best Valentine’s Day together yet!

*******************************

Hope you all enjoy as much love and fun as you dare tomorrow.

Or whenever you darn well feel like it!

For jam.

I. HEART. JAM!!

When I spotted the recipe for these charming raspberry thumbprints, it was love at first sight.

Tender shortbread with sweet, tart jam and a drizzle of delicate icing.

(Does that description sound like the type of cookie destined for Valentine’s Day enjoyment??)

So why not share the love and bake up a batch for your friends and loved ones and YOU!

Iced Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprints

In a large bowl, add 1 cup of butter (room temperature) and 2/3 cup of sugar:

Beat 1-2 minutes until fluffy:

Add half a teaspoon of almond extract and mix in well:

Add two cups of flour and couple pinches of salt and mix well:

If you are not used to making shortbread, the dough might look a bit confusing because it is so crumbly, but don’t worry…

…knead the dough in the bowl for a minute or so and it will come together:

Chill dough for an hour or more before rolling into 1 1/2″ balls:

Lightly press your thumb into the middle of each ball and fill the indentation with a half teaspoon of seedless raspberry jam.

Bake on an ungreased sheet for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden.

Allow cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Drizzle with icing (recipe below).

Warning: It is important that you share these cookies.  Otherwise, you will eat them all by yourself!

Happy love baking!!!

Ice Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprints

Makes 3 dozen

COOKIES:

*1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (do not use butter substitutes)

*2/3 cup sugar

*1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or your favorite extract)

*2 cups flour

*couple pinches of salt

*seedless raspberry jam

ICING

*1 cup powdered sugar

*1/2 teaspoon vanilla

*1 teaspoon lemon juice

*2-3 Tablespoons half and half

*pinch of salt

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in almond extract.  Add flour and sugar and beat until well incorporated.  Knead the dough in the bowl for a few minutes until the moist crumbs begin to form a solid ball.  Chill dough at least an hour.  Roll dough into 1 1/2″ balls.  Lightly press your thumb into the center of the dough ball and fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.  Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden.  Cookies will be very soft so allow them to cool a minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, in a large liquid measuring cup whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, salt and 2 tablespoons of half and half until smooth.  If the icing is still too firm, add another tablespoon of half and half until it is loose enough to drizzle.

Drizzle icing on top of cooled cookies.

To store: Once the icing has dried, place cookies in an airtight container with a sheet of wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking.  Store in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.

Fish fry AND snake show?!!

Who needs dinner and a movie when you live in West Texas?