10 Things to Accomplish in 2013

Goals for Me in 2013

1. Learn how to make more Laotian food. (My poor Hubbs--married an Asian girl, eats lots of hot dogs, lol!)
2. Set up (and stick to) a workable writing schedule.
3. Craft more -- especially painting & jewelry making.
4. Be mindful of the words that come out of my mouth (and my keyboard).
5. Lose the weight. (Yes, it’s there every year. One of these times it’s going to happen, I swear!)
6. Learn to: mud drywall, lay tile & carpet, install trim/moulding, and use a lot of the Hubbs’s power tools.
7. Read to the kids every possible night.
8. Make time for my friends. (Including have an actual conversation with at least one person a day.)
9. Make time for Date Night.
10. Make time for myself. (Including attending at least ONE writer’s conference!)

A lot of these are things that I try to do every year (like lose the dang weight--ugh.) But, I’d like to think I’m older, more mature, and just in a better place to reach my goals this year. Wish me luck!

What have you got planned for this year?

DIMyself: Ice Cream Cone Christmas Trees

Sunday the kiddos and I decorated “Christmas Tree” Ice Cream Cones. I’ve seen them all over the internet and being repinned like crazy on Pinterest. Every year, we try decorating a gingerbread house, and every year it looks like crap. I’ve never made gingerbread, so I always buy a kit, thinking it’s going to be easier.

Who am I kidding?

I have tiny kids, they can’t construct something with “icing” glue. They can barely construct something with actual glue.

I figured ice cream cones would be doable, since the project was basically like decorating a 3D cookie. (Decorating sugar cookies is something we do often in our house.) All in all, I would say the project was a success. Of course, Small’s tree looked like all the bottles of sprinkles exploded on it, but she was happy with it, and that’s all that matters.

ICE CREAM CONE CHRISTMAS TREES

This was my tree. I'm very proud of it. :)

Ingredients:

Icing--I used a basic sugar cookie icing recipe:

4 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsps butter, softened

1 tsp Vanilla

Milk

Green Food Coloring.

*Cream together the powdered sugar and butter, stir in the Vanilla and then add enough milk to make the consistency you want. For this project, I left it a little thicker so that the candies would stick & the icing would harden a little when done.

*Then stir in the food coloring. I used about 20 drops (I wanted very green trees.)

*Note: Since we only did 3 trees, there was lots of icing left over for cookies. :)

Sugar Cones

Assorted Candies for decorating--

We used Mini M&Ms

Twizzler Pull & Peel licorice

Girl Scouts Gummi Berries

& some random Christmas themed sprinkles & sugars I always have on hand.

First: We slathered icing all over the sugar cones.

Second: We added sprinkles and candies to our hearts’ delight.

Third: We ate.

The decorating only took about 30 min after the frosting and other ingredients were assembled. Which is great for short attention spans. This is definitely a project we’ll be doing until the girls are old enough (read: coordinated enough) to attempt gingerbread houses again. Heck, we might even do it again yet this Christmas!

Have a Merry (and tasty) Christmas!

30 Days of Thanks: Day Fifteen

30 Days of Thanks

Day Fifteen: A Recipe

I’m giving thanks, not for one recipe, but for many. Today, I’m thankful for all the recipes that my mother has passed down to me. Namely all the authentic Lao/Thai food. And more specifically, her eggroll recipe. Even with the years of practice, I have to admit that my eggrolls are still only the second best in the world.

But I think this is one situation where being second-best will be good enough.

My mom, the amazing cook.

Much Love,

L Schueder