Please forgive me, as it’s been over a month since my last confession and blog post. Where does the time go?

This fall we’ve had the pleasure of hosting our foreign exchange daughter, Kate. It seems like yesterday she arrived and we talked about doing so many things. She leaves next week for her next family, and I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone.

My baby is turning four. She’s a walking encyclopedia on the topic of dinosaurs. And then there’s the matter of the holidays fast approaching. Thanksgiving is upon us in a matter of 48 hours!  Christmas and New Year’s will be here, as well as our big family trip to Walt Disney World. Good grief Charlie Brown.

Is your life like mine? I’m not complaining. I am very blessed. Sometimes it simply feels like I’m sprinting along side a car, trying to catch up like the scene in “Home for the Holidays” where Holly Hunter is being strung along while her brother Robert Downey Jr. keeps inching the car forward, not allowing her to catch up. This is one of my favorite movies of all time by the way AND it’s a Thanksgiving flick.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anyone want to write a guest confession for me? I’m looking for some short guest articles or possibly to put some smaller confessions together into a short article to post here. Please email me or leave a comment if you are interested. Thanks!

It’s been a while since my last confession, so I thought I’d share my playlist on my iPod comprised of my “all-time favorite” songs. Your comments are welcome!

Groove is in the Heart, Deee-Lite
Let’s Hear It for the Boy, Deniece Williams
Stayin Alive, The Bee Gees
One More Try, George Michael
Fame, Irene Cara
Funkytown,Lipps Inc.
99 Luftballons, Nena
Time Warp, The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Cecilia, Simon and Garfunkel
Flashdance
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham!
Thy Word, Amy Grant
Good, Better Than Ezra
My Maria, Brooks and Dunn
The Shoop Shoop Song, Cher
Lady Marmalade, Christina Aguilara
I Found Someone, Cher
Mickey, Toni Basil
Follow Me, Uncle Kracker
How Do I Live, LeAnn Rimes
Let’s Go Crazy, Prince
Electric Boogie
Mambo #5, Lou Bega
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, Madonna
Footloose, Kenny Loggins,
Boom! Shake the Room, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
Bop, Dan Seals
It Wasn’t Me, Shaggy
Good Beat, Deee-Lite
Home, Daughtry
Crazy for You, Madonna (Vision Quest)

Contrary to popular belief, sushi doesn’t mean eating raw fish. While some sushi can include cuts of raw fish, “Sushi” actually refers to the method of rolling rice. Many sushi dishes only include vegetables, so don’t shy away if you’d like to give it a try.

Living in central Minnesota means there aren’t many options for International cuisine. Like most things, if I want good, fresh, and authentic dishes like sushi, I need to learn how to make it. A few weeks ago I took a class on how to make sushi. I won’t claim to be an expert by any means, but what I have made tastes great. It resembles sushi and is amazingly fresh. If you want to learn to make sushi, here are a few things I’ve learned.

5 Tips to Making Sushi at Home

1. Sushi rice is different than regular rice. Look for “sushi” on the package.
2. When told to rinse the rice first, it means, rinse like there’s no tomorrow. This takes a while!
3. Giving the rice a “vinegar” wash, doesn’t mean that you let the vinegar wash away. It stays on the rice.
4. Let the rice completely cool.
5. If possible, avoid Nori that is rolled in the packaging. What a pain.

Do you make sushi at home? Do you have any tips to add? I’d love to hear from you.

photo credit: .angels

It’s that time of year again when nothing else matters on Wednesday nights between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. It’s a time when my crazy, hectic life takes a sedative and chills out on the couch or floor for two hours of auditory fun.

This season of American Idol is by far my favorite yet. The contestants are the most talented I’ve seen this early on, and it’s a very diverse group of people (voices, styles, genres, etc). I have so many favorites that I want to see do well, which I don’t remember from past seasons.

If I had to choose a front runner for me, it would have to be Mr. James Durbin! I’m not sure if I prefer hearing rock, love his voice, like his talent, or if I’m still harboring residual anger that Adam didn’t win two years ago. James is my 2011 Adam, and I love the high notes. Scream away Mr. Durbin!

I like Kenny Loggins, aka, Paul McDonald. I also like Casey Abrams, who reminds me of Seth Rogen. Pia isn’t too shabby either, but the name drives me nuts. Who is your favorite?

photo credit: Luiz Gustavo Leme

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making homemade tortillas and Indian flat bread for quite a while. Now that I have been given all the lefse making tools it requires to roll and bake yummy lefse, my frugal mind went to work. Why can’t I get more out of this equipment? I think I can! So I set out on an adventure to make my first batch of flour tortillas, and you know what? A lefse stick works great for picking them up off the pastry board and turning them on the griddle. I ended up making several bags full, placed them in the freezer for future use, and spent pennies on them.

Need I really say more? The nice shoe/mitten organizer I put in the front closet only works if people place items IN the organizer. Yes, it works if mom places all the items in the organizer too, but I’m thinking “No”. Does your closet look like this? You can’t see it, but I have low hooks so the kids can reach to hang their coats. I guess that doesn’t matter either?

I really detest running. Do I need to? Yes, it would be good for my heart and weight loss. However, I find absolutely no pleasure in running. I never did, even when I was 102 pounds for many years. It has never “felt good”. Oh, I’ve heard the stories about getting beyond a certain point and then the chemicals/endorphins kick in, yada, yada, yada. Not me. I feel nothing good. I’ve tried good shoes, a positive attitude, ipods and music, hiring a physical trainer to keep me going, and guess what? I still detest running. I WISH it felt good and was something I craved. But I don’t. I will not ever enjoy running.

photo credit: andreweland

I fell behind in clipping my coupons. Determined to get caught up, I set aside last night to tackle clipping, sorting, and filing coupons. I assigned my two older kids tasks, which they did (grumbling).

 My youngest played toys, road her tricycle through the mess, and occassionally ran expired coupons to the garbage can (until that lost its appeal).

After a couple hours, we had made much progress. However, we decided to finish in the morning, leaving the mess where it is.

Hmmmm….this morning I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures of the incredible mess that awaits me today.

What’s your messiest chore?

Isn’t caller ID great? I can hardly remember a time without it, when I’d answer the phone and actually talk to a telemarketer. It seems so arciac now. I pity the business or non-profit who doesn’t have a public name/number listed, as they will not get a hold of me. Ever. How about you?