It Getting Hot in Here!

The following pictures are actual pictures of our thermometer upstairs. They are actual temperatures experienced by our little family. Thankfully, no one was permanently harmed due to these extreme temps...just really really sweaty.

We are fortunate enough to have purchased a portable air conditioner last year. I found a $500 unit for $150 on craigslist. It has gotten a lot of good use this year. We have it installed downstairs since it is naturally cooler down there. The air conditioner kept it about 10 degrees cooler. We put Izzy baby to sleep downstairs in our room, there was no way we could put her to sleep upstairs.

We took lots of cold showers before bed to help cool down so we could sleep. Man, what a difference from last year!

Lots of cooking was done in the microwave and on the grill.

Now that the temperatures had toned down a bit I felt more emotionally stable to do this post. I literally wanted to cry tears of joy when these cooler temperatures hit. Unfortunately looking at the forecast it looks like we are in for some more higher temperatures. Will this summer ever end??!!

Of course you may be wondering why we haven't put central air in yet. Well...we have put almost 10K into the house already. We had to replace the well pump when we first moved in and the roof was peeling off and we replaced that this year as well. Plus we are toying with the idea of geothermal. So there you go. I can not go through another summer like this though!!!

Birthday Party 4 & 1...beware of the picture laden post!

Erin was very happy with her Tinkerbelle cake. I was very happy with how it turned out. I was also very happy that I was able to relax about the level of perfection I wanted to achieve with the cake. Good enough is good enough.

This is our Bee Pinata that Erin and I made! Scott also helped with attaching the stinger, with gorilla glue no less, and made and attached the wings. I have to admit that when I saw him pull out the clear plastic wrap, straws, and tape I only imagined him throwing it all down in frustration. Instead he made some pretty impressive wings for Mr. Bee!

Our 4 day old nephew also made it to the party. Isn't he perfect!!!!

No Tinkerbelles were harmed in the making of this cake.

Here is Izzy's cake. I used up every red food coloring thing I had in the house to get the frosting as red as I could for the ladybug. Next time I need red....I'm buying red frosting.

Water fights were had....and the adults filled up squirt guns for the little squirts.

Run Walker!!!! Zig, then zag....

The mostly happy hosting couple. I lathered on at least 5 different anti-frizz, leave-in conditioner products for the party. Then I didn't touch my hair. If I had touched it and un-crunched the curls, the poofness would have scared the small children.

Pinata Time!!! Swing baby!

Look at the form!

Come here Bee!

Hiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyaaaaa! Anna was very good with the sound effects.

Man, this bee is tough.

Ok, finish er' off Ethan! WE WANT CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only two handfuls each children.

Slip..........and...........Slide!

Izzy, baby, wake up, we want to open presents and eat cake now.

I love it!

Tasty.

Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme!

Believe it or not, but the red frosting did come out of the dress.

Happy birthday girls!!!!

Cousin.

New cousin kisses! My brand new nephew! Isn't he gorgeous!!!!! He was born about 5 hours shy of Izzy's 1st birthday. So we drove over the the hospital on her birthday to squish this new bundle of joy.

He was 9 1/2 pounds!!! Over baked a little bit and facing a entirely impossible direction, he was born by c-section. They are balancing out the family a bit with a boy since I have only given birth to girls.

Yep, he smelled delicious! He nuzzled himself into the crook of my neck and got comfy. Such a sweetie!

Happy birthday Izzy! Uncle Ben getting some face time with Izzy baby.

Less than a day old and he had already filled his pants several times!

Erin did a good job being gentle with her new cousin. She was very curious about his lack of belly button though.

Absolutely the sweetest.

Laundry.

It was way too hot to run my dryer yesterday. It made it to 87 degrees in the house without running the dryer or cooking anything! I also do not have a clothes line. I have 1 closeline pole, but that just isn't going to cut it. So...I improvised. Railings, patio chairs, patio table, and a rake. Even when it's way too hot, laundry still needs to get done.

Our First Tomato!

Finally. During our 2nd season of trying to grow something up on this hill that is INFESTED with deer we have successfully produced a ripe tomato!!!!! No seriously. We can buy unlimited deer tags up here during deer season, they are that overpopulated.

Last year I lost every......single......tomato to those munching monsters. My tomato plants looked amazing and a plethora of tomatoes were on the vines about 2-3 weeks from all becoming ripe and sitting in my tummy. I came out one morning to see them ALL gone. A very depressing moment.

However.....we have drastically reduced the size of the garden this year. Used the deer netting, on top, of the plants instead of around the garden which they merely bounded over anyway. Also have in our employ a fancy shmancy motion detecting sprinkler. Those little buggers get close enough, about 30 ft., and that thing lets them have it!!! So far....so good. If this doesn't work, we'll have to get a dog. Or take turns on night guard and an airsoft gun.

But for now I will admire this little beauty until I can stand it no longer and sprinkle some salt on it and eat it! There is NOTHING like home grown tomatoes!

Ricotta & Pita Adventure!

Finally took the plunge in making cheese. I had been wanting to try it for awhile, but was nervous. So I bought a cheap gallon of milk....$2. I also wanted some plain yogurt to make some tzatziki sauce so I decide to split the gallon and make half yogurt and half ricotta.

Here is the milk for the ricotta with the instant read thermometer in. I needs to heat to 180-190 degrees.

Here is the pot with the milk for the yogurt. Also needs to heat to 180-190 degrees...

You need some acid to curdle the milk to make the cheese. You can use vinegar or lemon. Obviously, I chose the lemon. The recipe I used called for 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice.

Pour it in and....Viola...curds. Since this was my first time I was not sure what it should look like when it was all separated into curds and whey. So I'm pretty sure I didn't leave mine to sit long enough to completely separate and as a result lost a lot of milk when I strained it.





Once the milk for the yogurt is heated, I put it in the sink with cold water to cool it down to 120 degrees. At that point you add your starter. I just buy a 6 or 8 oz container of plain yogurt and whisk it in. You can add any flavorings and sugar at that point as well. So far I've only done plain and vanilla.

Once the milk has separated into curds and whey you strain it with a colander and cheese cloth. However long you strain it results in thicker ricotta.

Here it is!! You also can add some heavy cream or half and half to bring it to the consistency you want. . . and salt!!!

I wanted to make gyros because I wanted to make tzatziki which is why I made the yogurt. I was trying to find pita in the grocery store and could not find it anywhere!! I looked in the bread aisle....nope. I looked in the bakery section....none. I looked by chips and crackers....nothing! I even located the ethnic section....nada mente. So I made my own. With Erin's help of course!

Roll...roll...roll...

S......t......r......e.....t....c....h........

SMILE!

Here they are at first in the oven. They bake at 500 degrees for 4-5 minutes. Thankfully it was a cooler day!

And Poof!

"Not sure I can do a good poof, can you show me a good poof?" (name that movie)

Yes one poofed correctly, the other got stuck. But when they cooled I used a sharp knife and carefully helped it open.

Beautiful! They were great filled with our gyro toppings. Erin also had one with PB & J.

I've been slowly adding things to my baking equipment. These were $5 at TJ Maxx!! You have to love something that says it's Blowtorch Safe!

I like that they are blue and white and not just the traditional white. Creme Brulee here I come!!!!!!!