Pumpkin bread for royalty

Before leaving the nest, I made a little recipe book for myself from my mother's recipes.  One of the fine recipes I took with me to college was for pumpkin bread.  I have no idea if it was hers alone or whether she got it from someone else.  I would not be surprised if it came from my Grandma Belle.  My version has only one tweak to it from the original: CHOCOLATE CHIPS!  We all know chocolate makes the world go 'round.  Since making this slight recipe adjustment, I have become known far and wide as the Pumpkin Bread Queen.  After all, Mark says they serve it in Heaven.  Alas, the Queen will share her recipe.


Pumpkin Bread For Royalty (Because It Has Chocolate Chips)

4 eggs
3 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. pumpkin puree
2/3 c. water
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix eggs, sugar and oil in mixer on low.  Add water and pumpkin.  In separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together.  Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture.  Add chocolate chips.  Bake in greased/floured pans at 350F for about an hour.  (I do 30 minutes for mini-loaf pans.)

And if you are at all wondering about that awesome cutting board, it was made for me by Grandma Belle's big brother, Maurice, who is still alive and somewhere around 90 years old.  Love that man :)

Me with Great Uncle Maurice, Oct. '09

Mood Indigo

Cloud cover and rain surely are to blame for this mood I'm in today.  Now...I didn't say blue.  Indigo.  Its less emo to me.  Indigo is the color on the electromagnetic spectrum between 420 and 450 nm in wavelength.  Its a little blue, but its also a little purple -  plush and regal.  Its not blue-- it doesn't need a pick me up, its Indigo. All it needs is some rich and soulful Ella.





And while we're at it, how about some visual Indigo soul....

http://www.brighton.virtualmuseum.info/exhibitions/indigo.asp

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_gQMChxMH7_Q/R0I0UVuVN7I/AAAAAAAABTo/Z-LE29rwuyU/s1600-h/etsy+absoluut+that+mood+indigo+pillow.jpg

http://www.globe-trotterltd.com/main.html

Meet my Magical Friend and Mommy Entrepreneur, Kathy Dalton!

It am of the opinion that anyone who can de-stinkify a stinky baby is magical beyond description!  Meet Kathy, a dear friend  I met in college who has with her savvy, some mad entrepreneurial skillz, and a great team launched a great business and product I am happy to recommend!  

Its called a de-stinkifying baby-butt spray (or anything else that may need an olfactory lift.) Her product is everything I would hope it would be...made in the USA, made with all natural and organic ingredients, and even comes in 100% recyclable packaging!  AND its pediatrician and dermatologist tested, hypoallergenic, and of course, smells great.  

Try it out and let me know what you think!  You can purchase this great product online at http://www.littlestinkerusa.com/.  Watch for other upcoming products from this great company, such as Little Stinker Natural Nursing Balm.  


Go Kathy!  And hooray for good smells! 


(Become a fan of Little Stinker on Facebook or follow on Twitter!)

I Wanna Be Awesome and Don't Tell Me I'm Huge (I already know)

Here is some sharing of the heart that I so value in others and struggle mightily to do myself.  I am a bit inexperienced at it, so go easy.  ;)


Just like everyone else, I wanna be awesome.  I think there are varying degrees of this sentiment... To me, it means I want to 1. See Goal  2. Attempt goal and  3. Achieve some respectable semblance of said goal.  Here is my current goal.


1.  Produce J&S baby number 4.
2.  Attempted last year sometime (hehe)
3.  Baby will debut on, around, but likely before, May 16th.


Great!  Well on the way!  Its just that this whole incubation thing is super tough for me.  I have a hunch this is pretty universal for all preggos.  We want to do a lot (even though the above goal IS a lot!)  We are used to doing a lot.  (Previous kids, hobbies, work, goals.) And alas, there comes a point in pregnancy when we just cannot do a lot.  (Except for baking cookies and sweet bread which only exacerbates the problem!  Come on by if you want some cookies.)


Trust me, there is no shortage of things to do.  I have an enormous mess right here of unfinished projects from that quilt to these piles of keepsakes to be put in books, cleaning etc... PLUS I guess this is my year to be in charge of our production of Handel's Messiah, which is big this time cuz its the 25th year!  I was asked to direct the stake choir in April and also to perform at a local event in May.  Guess what! I'm just a girl who can't say no!  Oh yeah, and I already have three boys.  And though I do have anxiety about these things with another baby coming, I seem to love having a full plate.


Speaking of full, here is my real beef of the day.


Tell me how you would take this:

"Hey Stacey!  You're due any time now, right!?"
"No.  Not until May 16th."
"OH!" (walks away with a stunned face)


I take it as an innocent comment that stings a bit.  Me and my full bellied self hear this almost every time I go out in public lately!  Trust me, I am not a hater and I have even heard myself say similar things to women.  But seriously, the frequency that I am hearing this is starting to make me not want to do anything or see anyone.  But lonely is not a fun option either.


This last Sunday, I did something I have never done before.  I asked to be released from a church calling.  I have been conducting the sacrament meeting music for almost three years now.  Since my burgeoning belly has arrived, I have received MANY comments, both welcome and unwelcome.  The latter has been very frequent lately and I am having a tough time keeping it together.  I don't want to be on weekly display for my ward any more as I grow this baby.  


So.  Reader.  (singular.  hey sis!)  Lets be aware of this type of thing.  Ogling someone's belly and declaring that they look ready to pop or any version of the comment is likely to make that person go home and cry.  


I need a cookie.  


Note:  Since writing this post, I decided to forgo directing the stake choir this year.  Something about standing with my backside to hundreds of people while nine-months pregnant just doesn't sit well...

Where it's at...

I am so in love with this random piece that I saw it in one of my dreams recently.  How amazing would it look over my very rustic looking fireplace?  
Ohhhh yeah.

Every time I see it the same song pops into my head- " Beck's "Where It's At.

You can find this awesome sign at Urban Outfitters.

Lets put it this way. I have a crazy love for the melding of disparate worlds, for example this modern/vintage marquee sign over a slab of hewn timber. What seemingly non-coordinating things do you love?? I will post more examples when I can. :)

If I were my Valentine...

...this is what I would give to me.   A pretty little arrangement to match my personality.  Dark, brooding, and moody!  ;)

(From Studio Choo, SF via DesignSponge : http://smallstump.blogspot.com/)

Having so much fun

...while the kids play Nintendo! Muahaha! I am letting them just play for awhile on this "snow day," which I rarely allow them to do. (I swear!)

Check out this amazing site I found while the kids melt their brain cells away:

http://www.knockknock.biz/

Here is a little example of the awesomeness of their products. Oh that I had found this version of baby shower bingo ages ago!!!

http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/books-other-words/bingo/baby-shower-bingo/

Caught up in the thick of thin things?

Its my lucky (rainy) day!

I woke up this morning to discover I won my choice of a super cute tee shirt from Dressing On the Side. I love the cupcake tee! Thanks to Rachel at http://blackeiffel.blogspot.com for the sweet hook up! :) :) :) What a fun shirt to look forward to wearing post bigbelly.