Surprise, surprise! Michigan monkeying around

Early in January I got the word that I would be headed to Detroit for work.

Some of you know I have a sister/b.i.l. and five lovely littles camped out in the frigged northern land of the thumb. Upon receiving this news I quickly shot my b.i.l. an email with what little details I knew and we concocted a plan to keep my visit a surprise.

Some think I'm not a good happy secret keeper, mostly because they are correct. I don't share others secrets (I'm a vault!) but I'm a pushover when it comes to sharing fun secrets about myself. (Ssshh! Don't tell anyone.) But oh how I love surprise, and especially if I am the source of the secret! The rest of the family was in on it, and they did a slam dunk keeping everything under wraps.

So last Thursday, after our final day of meetings, b.i.l. Scott made the trek into Detroit and patiently waited for me to be dropped off at our rendezvous spot for the almost two hour drive north. When he opened the garage door I knew it wouldn't be long before we saw a little face or two and sure enough Caroline was the first to peak out. I know she knew it was me, but by the look on her face I had five heads! She promptly closed the door and then reopened it and this time came into the garage. I was out of the car by that point and put my finger to my lips motioning her to not say anything. I gave her my phone with the video recorder on and this is what she caught as I walked into the house:



Sorry it's sideways...no idea how to fix that.

Caroline did a great job but she's a few feet shorter than us so there was only so much she could capture, the audio is far more fun anyway. And especially fun if you actually know my sister Anne, she knows EVERYTHING! So keeping a secret from her always seems to be a challenge.

[Truth is, she was surprised twice...earlier in the week it was her birthday and sis Kelly & I helped b.i.l. Scott with a special cake. Anne said she would blog about it but I haven't seen it up yet.]

The video is short and doesn't catch me surprising the kids but they surprised me with their reaction...almost like they just expect me to walk in the door! Crazy kids.

Friday morning we (of course) went to the library. Katie is a reader and knew exactly what she wanted so while waiting for the others she kept herself entertained by having me take pictures of the two of us.
Katie & I are kindred spirits, we are after all, both Katherine's, but there is so much more to it. She reminds me so much of me when I was young. Her laugh and sense of humor is even similar to mine, I hope she turns out to be smarter than her favorite aunt though.

By the time Anne/mom was checking out the books from the librarian the other littles had joined us and we managed to make good use of that two minutes with more camera time:

My favorite photo of the weekend...
Friday after the library I sent Anne off for some alone time and to check things off her to-do list without 10 hands to keep track of. The kids and I stayed home and read books, watched movies and played. Alexandra, Katie & I even managed an intense & lengthy game of Monopoly where Katie held onto Broadway despite my every effort to buy it from her. In the end I won, but I was sweating it through the entire game. Those girls are smart!

Friday night rang promises of "Movie Night" and although in the end it was as different movie than originally planned, it ended up being far more fun watching Empire Strikes Back with Anne's kids than I ever thought possible. Anne is by far the biggest Star Wars, Han Solo, etc fan in our family. Sure, there are fanatics in the world that beat her out by a landslide, but her love is intense. So watching with her kids...priceless, they were hilarious, asking every possible movie related question, and they knew what they were talking about too!

My week had already been filled with 5 a.m. wake-up calls and midnight or later shut-eye which meant I was grossly lacking in my necessary beauty sleep to say the least. Like a zombie I only managed to make it through 45 minutes of the movie and I only half managed my way up to my room (well, Andrew's room) and crashed hard.

My lack of sleep also meant Saturday is a little fuzzy. I do remember waking to the smell of these amazing cinnamon rolls my sister made...

Yummy! After a halfhearted journey on the treadmill in the basement I quickly calculated the caloric content of my delicious breakfast and enjoyed every gram. Fabulous!

Saturday afternoon I managed to find a spot next to Katie on the couch where she was of course reading a book. I remember Jaq sitting on my lap and us reading a story and then someone put in a movie and I was out like a light. I don't recall exactly how long I slept but it was at least the length of the movie and the mumblings of dinner were chiming in from the kitchen so I know it was a good three hours at least. It was marvelous.

By Sunday I was ready to return to temperatures anywhere over 18 degrees, but sad to say good-bye to my littles, Anne & b.i.l. My flight was at noon so Scott and I dropped the crew at church and made our way to Flint, but not before I snapped a few more pictures of my favorite Eskimos:

Jaq & Alex
+ Androoo (his spelling)
Andrew & Jaq
Katherine Squared
Our videographer, Caroline
It was a great weekend...the perfect get-a-way piggyback to a work trip to one of the coldest places on the planet. I'm glad I was able to go and feel silly knowing now as I post these pictures that I didn't take even one picture with my sister! I did take a few really cute pictures of she and the littles so if she shares them with me I'll be sure to share them with you.

This year one of my resolutions is to be adventurous and "Do Something"...every month! Fun for me that this trip was my January "Do Something" and what a great "Do Something" it was.

Stay tuned for February's "Do Something"...

duck...duck...CHICKEN

This post is about canning chicken.

There is nothing eloquent or exciting (for most) about canning chicken. As a matter of fact, it is messy and gross, but it is fabulous. However, because it is messy, gross, far from eloquent, and still fabulous, this post is going to be more entertaining than educational. Don't misunderstand, you may learn many things and indeed feel educated, but if you are looking for specific and detailed direction just jump right down to the bottom and look for the link to the blog "Food Storage and beyond".

If you're looking for a good read, you have my permission to continue on...

About a month ago my friend Liz sent an email about the "chicken event" with Zaycon Foods.
Being the personally prepared individual that I am and wanting to continue following the council of our Church leaders I jumped right in.

(Zaycon Foods sells hormone free chicken, in bulk, at a fraction of the cost of what you can buy at the grocery store.)

My sister Kelly and I decided to order one 40lb box of chicken each and on a bright & beautiful Saturday morning in January I made my way to the pickup spot only a few miles from my house. This is what I found:

Yes, I found a man and a box truck full of chicken in a church parking lot.
The man was nice, the process was simple and I was literally there for about 5 minutes.
He put a plastic bag down to protect my seats and loaded both boxes into my Cruze for me.

"The chicken has been captured" was the text to Kelly when the produce had been collected.
I know, I'm funny like that.

I do wish there had been a (handsome) man waiting at my apartment when I returned, because do you know what it feels like to carry a 40lb box of chicken down a flight of stairs?

Twice?

This...

Or maybe this...

But I managed on my own and the chicken made it safely inside without any unforeseen droppage. Once inside I was so curious to open the box, I had no idea what to expect.

Big surprise...it was CHICKEN!

I went right to work cutting the chicken breasts apart and fitting every last piece into the jars I had cleaned the previous day.

* Side note: speaking to the quality of Zaycon Foods chicken, I was super impressed. The breasts were enormous and not very fatty at all. Very comparable to what you might find at a pricey grocery store but generally just looked better (it was fresh, not frozen) and larger (so much larger.)

Here we go...first batch in the pressure canner:

Thank goodness I have such an amazing family. My brother Levi came over as my first batch was processing (90 minutes in the canner) and brought his pressure canner with him! It cut my time in half, it was wonderful.
Yes, my kitchen is messy (I told you that canning chicken is not glamorous) but look at my cute antique cast-iron cornbread pans hanging on the wall.

Chicken processing and waiting...

First batch of chicken after it had processed.

I believe this was also the last batch that was processed in my canner, as the pressure would not hold and Levi assures me I need to replace my gasket.

A little semi-final product cooling and popping:

All in all it was a huge success. I canned every ounce of my 40lb box of chicken and Kelly froze all of hers. If I had a deep freeze and a generator I would probably have frozen most of mine, but canning works. Only three of my 52 jars of chicken did not seal and they are hanging out in my freezer waiting for me to have another reason to cook dinner.

Yes, it was a long day but it was a great day and I felt super productive. After my canner wouldn't hold any pressure I was back to only one which just extended the time I was in the kitchen, or at least stuck at home watching the pressure build and timer tick down.

I know, you're all wondering how a wonderful single gal like me with such a wide range of talents can stay single...oh, it's tough, but I manage. Who am I kidding, any guy would be lucky to have me...I am amazing, even if I'm the only one who thinks so.

Now, if you're wanting much more detailed instructions on how to can chicken, here is my sister Anne's phone number: ###-###-####
Yeah, she would kill me!

If you know Anne, call her, she is amazing but you know her so you know this.
If you don't know Anne then visit the blog "Food Storage and beyond" HERE for the direct link to her detailed instructions.

I'm not sure what is next on my list but don't come knocking on my door when you run out of food, or the roads are iced over and trucks can't make it to restock the grocery store shelves (hello Ice-lanta 2011). Or heck, come on over...I'd love some company!

Thanks for reading, now leave a comment already!

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

This is my Mason Jar Soap Dispenser:

I made a few of these for friends & family for Christmas presents with plans to make myself one when I found an extra few moments. Then a week or so ago I was going through a box of jars my oldest sister Anne gave me and found an old square Presto Mason jar and fell in love! I stopped what I was doing instantly, grabbed the drill and went to town. Because I had a soap dispenser at the kitchen sink already I just used that pump. For the dispensers I made as gifts I purchased hand soap at the dollar store and just cut the pump to fit.

If you are wanting to make one of these for yourself just grab your power drill, or ask your husband if you can borrow his and your largest drill bit. Mine was only a 1/4" so once I made my initial hole in the lid I just wiggled around the hole to make it larger. Keep putting your pump into the hole to check for a snug fit and then use hot glue on the bottom side of the lid to make sure it is secure.

I decided not to go into much detail here because if you are anything like my you'll see the image and just do it your own way. If you do have questions just leave a comment, I'll get back to you via the good ol' blog.

I also found a recipe for liquid hand soap on Pinterest so I gave that a try too. Interesting, and so far it gets my hands plenty clean.

Gerard & Katherine

Gerard and I decided our annual Christmas card would be much more fun if we really got into it...

Hit by a shovel

The vacuum came out of the closet.



It's not doing anything, but at least it's out. Clearly I need the fancy new vacuum that will clean the floor on its own because I can't sit on the couch and feel miserable AND do all the housework at the same time. Or a maid, yes a maid is a much better idea.

I've been sick since I visited Ohio for Thanksgiving. I'm blaming the nieces and nephews, but it could have been the windy cold weather that I insisted on walking through (almost) each morning. Either way, I've only felt worse since returning home.

Last night I took NyQuil. I might have taken too much, I have no idea. What I do know is that I slept hard and woke up this morning feeling like I had been hit with a shovel. I've been exhausted since I got out of bed and can't seem to take a nap to save my life. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sweet man here to bring me hot tea or cocoa, fix my dinner. And socks, I need socks because my feet are cold.

Course, my heart usually feels like it's been hit by a shovel most of the time a sweet man comes around.

Obstacles...around every corner

Remember field day in elementary school? I don't remember there being an obstacle course so I think my life is making up for it now.

Field Day.
Remember freezing your soda the night before so it would stay cold until lunch?
Remember when we didn't need a gym to work out?
I'll remember tonight if I can't make it to the neighboring Marriott before 11 p.m. as the Marriott where I will rest my head tonight apparently doesn't have one.

Obstacles?
Hardly, that's just a speed bump and I'm flying right by!

Anonymity & being a better me

There is a lot to be said of anonymity. It is safe and it is powerful.

Today I kicked the elliptical's trash for 3 miles. It felt awesome, just the same as it did yesterday and the same as it will tomorrow. Even after my meeting. Even at the awful hotel gym.

Do you know why anonymity is powerful? Because when you tell someone that you want to change your body they tend to say things like "but you look great" or "you are beautiful" or "you are perfect just the way you are".

Don't be that kind of someone.

Do you know why anonymity is safe? Because when you fail you only have to admit it to yourself. When you tell others about a guy you are seeing and the relationship ends it's like you have to break up with every single person you told. Do you know what that leads to? The longest, most painful breakup in history.

When you tell others that you want to change your body and you fail, they see it.

Not this time.