National Pancake Day

Shrove Tuesday is a day observed by millions of Christians around the world. It's the Tuesday right before Ash Wednesday when people indulge in richer, fattier foods and celebrate in over the top ways to get ready for their 40 days of Lent.  Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Carnival whatever you want to call it, it all boils down to the philosophy of "Live it up before you let it go." In Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand the day is also known as "Pancake Day" and it is as common a custom to eat pancakes just as it is in America to eat Turkey on Thanksgiving. 

It's just what you do. 

So in the spirit of tradition (because I'm not personally a religious person), I whipped up my own original recipe for the very best pancakes on the planet. They turned out so ridiculously delicious, I figured I'd share. After all, I haven't posted a recipe on this blog since the day after Halloween. 

It's about that time. 

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 TBS sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

Directions:

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk to combine.  

In large glass measure, add 1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk, egg, oil, and vanilla.  Whisk to combine.  

Add the wet ingredients into the center of the dry and whisk to combine.  If the batter seems to thick, add more buttermilk until it is pouring consistency.  Set aside.

Heat griddle/skillet which has been lightly oiled with either the canola/butter mixture or sprayed with cooking spray to med-high.  

When griddle/skillet is hot enough, stir the batter and pour by 1/4 cup to form pancakes.  Cook until the edges begin to look dry and small bubbles form on the batter surface.  Flip and cook on the other side for a minute or so, until pancake is done. 

Remove to platter in warm oven, and repeat with remainder of batter.  

And off the subject of pancakes, we've got an under the weather kiddo yet again. She's sick, but still smiling which warms my heart more than pancakes ever could. So send some quick recovering love our way if you think about it and Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Tricks and Treats

So my old iPhone 4 had an unfortunate and sudden death. 

Having been dropped quite a distance, the screen shattered both on the front and back with shards of glass burying their heads into the key pad causing multiple FaceTime calls to everyone in my address book at disastrous hours in the night. 

Inopportune for sure.

 I was sure a few of my friends would disown me. 

After the proper amount of mourning time, I marched down to the AT&T store, explained the untimely demise of my beloved lifeline, and asked if there was anything they could do for me.

Behold, my new iPhone 5C:

 There are a handful of tricks that I have recently discovered which are so cool, I figured it was worth the share.

1. If you turn your phone on to airplane mode, it charges twice as fast

2. When taking a picture, you can capture multiple shots for as long as you hold down the button by snapping 10 photos per second. And real-time analysis suggests the best photos of the bunch.

3. You can just ask Siri to wake you up in 3 hours (or however long) and she'll set an alarm for you instead of having to open and program your alarm clock app.

4. When you're taking a video and something happens where you want to take a picture, there is a small camera button to hit which snaps the shot without stopping the recording of your video. 

5. LTE is great for crazy fast downloads and Internet connection, but it kills your battery. If you turn off the LTE, your phone will go to 3G instead, which works just great around town for regular phone calls and whatever else.  Save your battery and slow it down a bit  Settings -> General -> Cellular -> Enable LTE to Off

6. Asking Siri to launch an app for you saves time and lives when you're driving around. 

7. You can take selfies using the button on your ear-bud / head phone cord. Just set your camera on the table or wherever, face the camera to you, and click the button. This way you won't have half your arm covering half your face. 

So those are the new things I've learned this week. I'm determined to master this phone and I send my sincere apologies to those I disrupted during my old phone's toddler-esque meltdown. 

Speaking of meltdowns...

Last week I left you with the introduction of our family's new Elf, Heart. On her first day, Kalynn found her in the cupboard making snow men out of our leftover camping marshmallows. 

Day 2 didn't go over so well. Heart was found cuddled up in the Cabbage Patch hammock, wearing another baby's pajamas and snuggling with Kalynn's favorite tiny Pound Puppies. 

This horrific display of disregard for other people's things flipped Kalynn's tiny temper switch and got Heart in some serious trouble. Kalynn was so upset that Heart would do such a thing, it sparked a silent feud between the two and they couldn't even look at each other for the rest of the day. 

Yes. Seriously. 

(Who knew this would turn out to be the parenting fail of the season...)

Day 3 Heart offered an apology and was found hanging upside down from the chandelier with an "I'm sorry" note and a box of Kalynn's favorite Pop Tarts. All was forgiven and their friendship was rekindled (but not without a "don't ever do that again!" speech).

Day 4 It snowed here in Colorado and Heart must have wanted to join in the excitement because we found her making snow angels on our kitchen table. 

Day 5 she was found in the corner tuning up Daddy's guitar. 

Day 6 Heart had made herself a tiny little fishing pole and had seemed to have caught herself a Goldfish cracker!

On Day 7, Heart must have quietly crept into Kalynn's closet and taken out the Candy Land game because we found her in the morning playing with her new friends. Although the elf was winning, it looked like R2D2 was close behind and Princess Belle was about to skip passed Lord Licorice and go into the Peppermint Forest.

This morning, we found Heart had toilet papered our Christmas tree and was still napping in the evidence. 

So in conclusion, it's been an exciting couple of weeks here at the Fuller Farm. 

My blog is being considered for the new Blog Her contribution page coming up in a couple of months and one of the requirements is to write more often so you'll be hearing from me on a steadier basis!

Thanks again for all the support and I hope everyone is staying warm out there in Internet Land!

xoxo

To Elf Or Not To Elf

Ok, so I was a little weary about this Elf on the Shelf thing.

I see the creepy factor.

A toy elf sitting in the corner who flies to the North Pole and reports to Santa every night while you sleep.

I thought about it for months before I decided to dive in head first and just go with it.

After months of pinning ideas on Pinterest I realized that the elf's arrival was kind of a big deal. The way I present her for the very first time kind of sets the bar for the type of excitement I'll get out of Kalynn.

So.

I thought about all the fun stuff my mom used to do with me as a kid and one of my favorites was always the scavenger hunt.
Kalynn is just about to turn only 4, so riddle clues are a little too overboard for her taste.

But!

A picture scavenger hunt, now that's totally do-able.

We have an Autumn tree that we put up right about the week before Thanksgiving every year. We decorate it with white lights and fall colored leaf garland, pumpkins, gourds, scarecrows, little turkeys, etc and then the day after Thanksgiving we take down all the Thanksgiving crap, change the lights, and hang up all the Christmas ornaments.

So Thanksgiving morning, Kalynn walked out into the living room to this:

( Sprinkling a light mixture of red glitter and baking soda around your husband's giant size 12 flip flop makes for a fantastic magical snowy Santa footprint. )

These footprints went straight from the chimney to the tree.  

The first thing she saw were of course the footprints. The second thing she saw was that the autumn decorations were gone and the white lights had been changed to multicolored. 

Having Santa in the house way before Christmas was such a shock to her easily confused system, she immediately ran into our room and pulled us out of bed for a full assessment of the situation. Jason and I got up to check out the scene and sure enough, we both came to the conclusion that they were, in fact, evidence of a fat man in a red suit. Upon closer inspection, we found a little rolled up note left behind on the tree skirt. 

Kalynn unrolled the ribbon and found the paper to be a photo of her bedroom vanity table. 

So we all walked over to her vanity table and low and behold, there was another rolled up paper which was a picture of our washing machine. 

And on the washing machine there was a picture of my jewelry box. 

And on my jewelry box there was a picture of under her bathroom sink... 

This squealing, giggling, Santa trail went on for 20 different places around our house until the last photo brought her to our bedroom closet where she found a letter from Santa, a tiny chair and a wrapped up present. 

(Bed head at its finest)

So the majority of us as parents know the concept of the Elf on the Shelf. I've read the story, I've asked my friends, I've pinned the ideas...

HOWEVER!

There is one GIANT part of the elf concept that I just can't get around which is that the Elf must not ever be touched or else she will lose her Christmas magic and she won't be able to fly to the North Pole to report to Santa. 

Every morning this elf is supposed to hide in some new and exciting place doing some new and exciting activity and then she's supposed to just be left alone for the remainder of the day and we all have to just continue life around her. 

But what if our elf is found some place that we need to utilize during that day? This part of the plan is so inconvenient. 

So. 

I thought and I thought and I thought and I finally came up with a very simple solution. 

Santa wrote Kalynn a letter and explained in detail about the elf not being touched. BUT, he also explained that she does get 10 SECONDS of non-magic per day. Only 10 quick seconds every morning and that 10 seconds is for mommies or daddies only to carefully pick her up, run her as fast as we can to the chair that Santa had made for her. It is sort of like a viewing chair. We had special instructions, from Santa himself, to place the chair somewhere that she is able to see the most of our household activities.

So the next day when Kalynn went looking for her morning fruit bar and she found her elf in the pantry making a snowman out of our marshmallows, she shrieked with delight and then came to get me. We both did our "ready, set, go!" and I ran the Elf from the kitchen to her fancy magic chair while Kalynn counted to 10 as loud and calm (not calm) as she could. 

It was all very exciting. 

The chair is one that I picked up at the Good Will for .99 cents a few weeks back and I decorated it with ribbon, glitter, and sticky gems. It is seriously going to be so much more convenient than having to step over this creepy little stalker every time she's found in the middle of the bathroom or bedroom floor. 

So now with Elf season officially upon us, may I just say good luck, parents! 

May all your children be well behaved and may your elves be creative and effortless! 

Yuletide For Yoda

A great friend of mine is the chef for the National Science Foundation and working in Antarctica at Palmer station. Not only is he a culinary commander 12 hours a day in the kitchen, but he also flip flops bi-seasonally between the fire team and the Ocean Search And Rescue team. (You know, because he's a total bad ass.) I'm constantly seeing these pictures online that he posts of breads and tarts and pies and piles and piles of food that are sadly miles and miles away from my watering mouth. He works hard and he works a lot so his time off is obviously greatly welcomed. I feel very thankful that we are able to keep in pretty constant contact given our schedules and time zone differences. We've made the effort for the last couple of decades to stay in each others lives. Our sturdy foundation has always been based off our mutual admiration for each other, hard liquor and Star Wars. It's the time withstanding equation of a true champion friendship.

We get to chit chat a couple times per week and he sends me things he knows I'll appreciate like amazing closeups of my beloved moon as seen from the South Pole, or live website updates of his station, or videos of him and the crew screwballing around or whatever. Well yesterday when I was at work,  I was sent the most amazing thing I may have ever seen floating around the world wide web: Star Wars snowflakes.

Apparently, Francis stumbled on the find of the season for us Star Wars suckers. It is an entire webpage devoted to these, um, what do I call them, Force Flurries?
This graphic designer turned awesome blogger, Anthony Herrera, has pages and pages of templates you can download for free. Some of them are very simple and some of them will take an extra sharp X-Acto along with many minutes of spare time. But whatever you're up for, the website is worth the looksie.

I went with Darth. 

So thanks, Fran. You totally made my day. I'll return the favor by showing you off and bragging that I knew you way back when...

The Brotherhood Of The Traveling Unicorn

Here's the thing:

For Halloween, Jason went as an 80's rocker. 

Finding the perfect t-shirt was critical.

Just as I was about to give up after searching almost every thrift store in town, I turned the corner and something out of place caught my eye. To the left across the bruised toys and around the corner of tossed aside wooden baskets, I saw a lone black shirt stuffed in among the soiled coffee pots. I pulled it out, unwaded the fabric and it was like a light shown down from the heavens. 

Trumpets played, angels hugged, choirs sang.

It was a glorious moment that brought tears to my eyes.
I knew this shirt was the winner I had been longing for. 

When I brought it up to the counter, the check out man smiled and held it up to his fellow co-workers who all told me about the shirt's fate saturated arrival. Apparently, they had discussed between them who was going to end up with this gem of cotton and whoever did was going to be one very lucky soul. I mean, it is pretty much the best shirt ever created.

So Halloween came and went but at the end of the day, we were left debating on what to do with this fantastic electric unicorn find.

"I kind of want to re-gift it," he said.

"Hmmmm...... I have an idea..." I said.

A week prior, I had been flipping through Pinterest and I ran across "The Giving Plate." It was just an uncomplicated porcelain platter with a nice letter written on it about passing food among friends and family. The directions stated that once you receive the plate, you whip up some sort of baked good and then gift the plate and the goodies to your closest girlfriend who then does the same. The plate goes round and round and continues to spread joy wherever it goes.

Well that's nice.

And then it dawned on me...

How could I be so stupid to think this shirt was just meant for our small minded little family? This shirt was a drifter! A dreamer! A loner full of wanderlust! Of course a shirt such as this one can't be tied down to one owner, what was I thinking??

So.

I am currently on a path to help this shirt fulfill its destiny. 

Here is how:

I have made and laminated its story to be passed along from person to person. I figure, wherever this shirt goes, wherever it ends up, we can all track it back to this web page. If this shirt ends up in your lucky hands, email me! krista@thebrighterwriter.com and send me a picture of you in the shirt along with your location and I will post the picture here on this site. If you're on Twitter or Instagram, take a picture and use #TheBrotherhoodOfTheTravelingUnicorn to show us all the adventures it has been on.

Who knows where it'll go! Maybe it'll make its way around the world!

The Unicorn Journey:

Updated 1/16/14 - The electric unicorn has made its way from Fort Collins, Colorado to Lake Forest, California. Thank you to Scott R. for the photo update!

Updated 2/3/14 - From  Lake Forest, California to Sahuarita, Arizona! Thanks to Brian J! Best pictures ever!

From a lineman in Sahuarita, Arizona to a train engineer in Tucson, Arizona! 

Thanks Kyle Jackson!

 To Nick Jordan from Georgia!

Moving along to Joshua Quesada from Philadelphia, P.A

Marvin Estevez From Queens, New York! 

Thanks guys for keeping it going! 

The Day After Halloween

Success!
We had a few melt downs due to lack of sleep and a constant stream of sugar, but for the most part, Halloween went off without a hitch again this year!

Kalynn revived the late, great "Mean Queen" Marie Antoinette with the props I brought back from Paris this last Summer.

I dreamed about taking back the streets of Manhattan from Slimer with my homemade Proton Pack and hugging up on Venkman:

Jason channeled his inner 80's electric unicorn loving self and rocked the neighborhoods of Fort Collins with his tight rolled jeans.

Just like last year, Kalynn racked up a pile of candy that is going to take us months to consume. We got more Kit Kats and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups than anything else so it's time to put them to good use and make another few cheesecakes!

The thing I love about this recipe is that it doesn't have to be Reese's. Last year Kalynn came home with a bucket full of Butterfingers, Heath Bars, and Snickers to use for cheesecake. They all work for this recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup finely crushed chocolate graham crackers

1/2 cup butter, melted

13 individual Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup milk

Normally when you make a graham crust, you combine the butter and the crushed graham cracker, press it to the bottom of your pan and bake it. However, with this recipe you skip the baking step because when the chocolate in the Reese's (or whatever) melts, it solidifies the crust on it's own. So all you need to do press the crumb mixture to the bottom of your pie pan or spring form pan or whatever you're using. I happened to use a rocks glass because that's what I had handy, but you can use a spoon or a measuring cup or basically anything with a flat bottom. 

(or just buy a pre-made crust from the store)

Next, chop up your candy and make a layer directly on top of your crust. I used 8 individual Reese's Cups for the layer on the bottom of the crust but if you have more to use, then use them!

Cheesecake filling:

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese (make sure your cream cheese is softened! I blew out the motor of one of my hand mixers trying to do this step with freshly refrigerated cream cheese) sugar, flour, and vanilla until combined. Add eggs and egg yolk all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in milk. 

Pour filling into crust and candy lined pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes for the 8-inch pan, 40-45 minutes for the 9-inch pan, or til center appears nearly set when shaken.

Cool  cheesecake completely and chill at least 4 hours. 

Chop and sprinkle your remaining candy cups on top of cheesecake. We had Reese's Pieces, Reese's Fast Breaks, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. It really doesn't matter. You can also add chocolate syrup for garnish. 

Now that Halloween has come and gone, it's time to pack up the creepy crawlies and bust out the Thanksgiving decor. I've come to the realization that countdown calendars are the way to go with a little one running around the house. I don't have to tell her every single morning how many days are left until the next holiday. Plus taking a ring off the chain, or opening a door from the house (or whatever your countdown) gives her something to look forward to. This year I made a felt tree. Felt is great because it's super cheap and it sticks to itself. Perfect for a 3 year old. 

I used whatever colors of felt I had around the house, cut out 30 little leaves and stuck them on the branches. Each day she takes a leaf off, tells me something she's thankful for, and puts it in the "Give Thanks" pouch.

When I was at the Home Depot yesterday buying potting soil I made a stop by the paint department and grabbed a couple of paint samples. They make great turkey tails!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Don't forget to brush your teeth!