Treasure Chest: Skor Wannabes

This is a very simple recipe that always (well, almost always) delights the palates of those that try them… and now you can evoke culinary bliss on your friends, family, and guests!

Skor Wannabes (aka “Cracker Candy”, “Bark”, etc.)

Salted Saltine (Soda) Crackers
1 cup butter (don’t use margarine, people - stick with the real stuff!)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Cover 2 small/medium or 1 large jelly roll pan(s) (cookie sheets with sides) in aluminum foil.
Lay as many crackers as possible on the pan(s).
Melt together over low/medium heat the butter and sugar, stirring regularly. Once they are both melted, you will find that the butter sorts of sits on top of the thicker sugar. Stir agressively until they are blended smoothly.
Pour butter/sugar mixture onto cookie sheets, dividing evenly between the pans. Spread evenly over crackers. NOTE: For a crunchier result, just barely cover crackers with the butter/sugar mixture. For a more chewy result, be generous with it!
Bake for about 7 minutes or until it’s all bubbling lively!
Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over cracker/candy layer, use butter knife to spread ’til melted.
When slightly cooler, place in freezer until completely hardened. Break into pieces, store in airtight container.
Serve and enjoy!

Holiday Realities

1. Sleep!!! Seems like I can’t get enough on my memory-foam-topped mattress, with my memory foam orthopedic pillow… too bad I have these friends that have made me addicted to iChat and we end up having this amazing conversations ’til the wee hours… (Okay, so my body is CRAVING it right now, but it’s only 7:14 pm!)

2. Blogger. Just so cool. Not in the same way as myspace, but in its own way. It’s beta-ness, perhaps, contributes a lot.

3. My Homemade Ginger Snaps with the Snowflake Imprints. ‘Nuff said. (Thanks, Mo!)

Report: Round Four with Diva

(Warning: Girl Stuff Enclosed. Don’t read if you’re easily grossed out! And don’t judge me either! )

Pleased to report all is going well. (Unfamiliar with the DivaCup? Read my early posts about “Diva” or go to the DivaCup website)

Mostly I’m being a slacker and not keeping to the 12-hour schedule, which my body doesn’t like a whole lot (no, I don’t blame it).

Pain factor: Those final few seconds before the cup pops out are still painful, but not unbearably so.

Cleanliness: I’ve got the whole process down to an art, really. Pull Diva out, dump in toilet, rinse in toilet, put soap in, wash, dump excess in toilet, then run under warm/hot water in sink. Then, put back in, pee if I have to, wipe, flush, and then of course wash my hands.

I think that’s enough details for today!!

So that’s four months almost that I’ve had the DivaCup… in four months, I’d normally spend maybe $30 on pads and tampons. I spent $30 on the DivaCup and don’t have to throw it out! Sweet!

Life is not PG… a Quote.

That ocean of sadness, that nameless sorrow for me has not been a specific grief-causing event. It has been for me a realization that life is not rated G or even PG. A realization that life is not about easily resolved conflict. A realization that life is not happy. That realization for me created an ocean of sadness - because I didn’t understand why life should not be primarily about happiness. That realization planted in my a nameless sorrow. The beautiful thing is (and I mean beautiful not easy to look at or polished) that in coming to this realization, this naked and immediate experience of sadness I have begun to experience life, I have begun to embrace life to the full. Only, not life to the full in the Care Bear/Disney World sort of way, but life to the full in the streets of Toronto/Requiem for a Dream/grittiness, greys, and colors of life/good news of the gospel of peace/reconciliation/redemption/hope/healing sort of way.

–Aram Mitchell, aramgorn.blogspot.com

Sarah’s Gym/Catwalk/Bakery

1. The Ability to Walk. I had to walk to work this morning, and Saturday. I enjoy “being forced to” walk (read: no vehicles available) because then I’m forced to actually do something active. I enjoy having a reason to get out there and see the town, smell the air, watch the people moving around, listening to the “Beautiful Tunes” playlist on my iPod the whole way.

2. Funky Fashion. I’ve been talking to a friend about how I get frustrated with clothes that are expected or normal, and I feel most refreshed when I’m putting together outfits that are edgy or unexpected. Or if I’m wearing a GREAT pair of shoes!!! And I really do believe I have to bring skinny jeans to Goderich. So, G-Dot, BE PREPARED! I do often feel like I’m sort of missing out on the good wardrobe components that will make my collection feel complete… I’m definitely open to ideas!

3. Baking. Sure, it’s annoying to do in mom’s tiny kitchen with virtually no counter space, and I don’t love cleanup, but I do love creating things period, and the privilege of delighting people with baked goodies is a delight to ME! So give me notice that you’re coming over so that I can whip up something de-lish.

Swear, Hair, Wear

1. Good friends. The ones that you can catch up where you left off, every time, even if it has been months, or years; the ones that you can be completely honest and crazy with; the ones that love even your crazy outfits; the ones you can drink and swear with (enough to be healthy); the ones that you can eat with and laugh with and be deep with.

2. Edgy hair. With me, every day is a new hair adventure, and I can choose to just shove it up so as not to show the frizz, or I can fight for something presentable, or I can go the extra mile to make something edgy happen. Then it takes extra courage to pull it off, but I find it’s mostly always worth it. ‘Till someone says they recognize a bad hair day when they see one. Back to the drawing board. Or not…

3. Footless tights. Dang sexy, oh-so-fun to wear, and they look hot with a miniskirt and ballet flats. And it’s hard to go wrong in the top department when you have that combo going on. Okay, so maybe some of the 80’s weren’t all bad!

Treasure Chest: Super Easy Tortilla Chip Dip

So I had this random thought that perhaps there is other wisdom I might share with the elite few that peruse these pages and they can then pass it on to others as they deem fit.

And I was just making some Super Easy Tortilla Chip Dip and thought of all you that haven’t been so blessed in your life:

Put a big spoonful of Cheese Whiz (or something similar) in a microwaveable bowl and microwave just long enough for it to melt.

Add some globs of your favourite salsa (proportionately, you probably want a little more than the cheese) and stir.

Enjoy with your tortilla chips of choice, or be creative and use to dip other things!

Carols, Candles, Olives

1. Christmas Songs. They’re just so cheery and fun. And even if they’re slow and a bit melancholy, they’re still hauntingly beautiful. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is a favourite, as is the Huron Carol. I also LOVE The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting…) and could sing it every day in different ways!!

2. Candles. The good kind mostly, made by Colonial or PartyLite or other similar companies. There’s just something rich about a room with lit candles, and the ensuing fragrance is enticing like nothing else, filling your home or office with cozy warmth.

3. Olives. I could eat a third of a jar in a sitting and sometimes do. I could drink the juice and occasionally indulge. Often my snack of choice at any hour, except breakfast, of course. The green ones in juice stuffed with pimentos… mmmmmmm!!!

Recap: Round Three With Diva

I forgot to post when it was actually happening, so here’s a recap:

Things went well, less pain and uncomfort than ever before.

My only complaint: Feeling as if I wasn’t positioning it right, then feeling it sort of reposition itself later. Oh, and wondering if that caused some gasses to build up… a strange feeling!

But I’m still convinced it was a good purchase and I’m hangin’ in there!

Yummy: Tunes, Timing, Tea

1. Starfield. I’ve had the Tumbling After album for several months now, but just started to really appreciate it recently. So much down-to-earth truth in those lyrics, plus catchy tunes I want to hear over and over again. Definitely soul music.

2. Snow. It started falling in earnest yesterday afternoon, and my prediction that the ground would be covered by nightfall proved correct. And the fact that it was falling while I had the Christmas tunes playing, a yummy candle burning, and while putting the decorations on the tree was just PERFECTO! God is cool.

3. Chai tea. No, I’m not addicted to caffeinated everything. Just the best of those. I just downed a homemade latte, made with half milk and half chai tea concentrate, heated in the microwave. Mmmmm good. Also the highlight of many Starbucks visits! God bless those people who invented the stuff! They should be given a lot of money.