Wonderland

I'm not dead! I haven't forgotten about my blog either, but man am I tired. I came down with a horrible case of the flu last week that kicked.my.butt. I always hear people say, "oh, I just had the flu" in an off-handed, no big deal kind of way. They are so wrong. THAT is not the flu! When you have the real flu, you don't move, don't talk, don't get out of bed. All I can say, is that the inventors of Zofran and Tamiflu are geniuses and I will forever love them. Which, coming from me, means a lot.

I recently came across a really great little company through a friends facebook page. It's called Gingermelon and she makes the most adorable doll and stuffed animal patterns that I have ever seen. Sometimes, I just stare at them. I don't know what it is, but something about their little faces just gets to me. The patterns range in price from $10-$18, which isn't too bad. But, before I forked over $15 for a pattern and another $10 in wool felt, I wanted to make sure that I would even like doll making. Plus, I have huge problem paying for things when I'm pretty sure I could figure out how to do whatever it is myself. So, I sat down with my sketch book, made up a pattern and got to work. I don't normally enjoy hand sewing, but this was really fun! Probably because the doll I made was small and for SweetPea. SweetPea is absolutely smitten with her "baby baby Alice" and has demanded that I make Belle, Gaston and "Big Other Nice Beast" to be her friends as well. It took me about 3 hours (with the kids awake) to finish and I am in love! I am not going to teach you how to make this doll though since it wasn't really my idea to begin with. The general shape and Alice in Wonderland idea belongs to Gingermelon. When I get more adventurous and creative I may do some sort of tutorial (with my own pattern), but for now you can buy them at the link above. What I love about this doll is that it's soft, made of organic fabrics and stuffing and doesn't have any small parts that a baby could choke on. It would be perfect for a little girls first doll.

Meet Alice: 

My mom was here for 10 days right before I came down with the flu and we had such a great time We went to the Zoo, shopped, the park, shopped, played scrabble, shopped. We like to shop. It was wonderful having her here. As sad as I was to see her go, I was a little relieved to try to get my figure back. She's a really bad influence when it comes to sugar. I can't say no when someone is offering to buy me gourmet meals and donuts every time we leave the house. What can I say? I'm a sucker for good food.
I forgot how nice it is to have someone around who knows all of my stories, secrets and is comfortable even in silence. It's very quiet without her here. But, I have visitors for May and June and my sister is moving in next month, so the quiet won't last for much longer, thanks goodness. For anyone wanting to come visit us...come prepared for SweetPea, "the terror". She turned into a complete monster the first day my mom got here, was worse by the weekend when my dad arrived, and has just now began to mellow out and get back to her sweet self. I think it was all just too much for her little heart to handle. My mom and her were so close back home, she must have been on emotional overload last week. Sassy, whiny, crying, hysterical, hitting, tantrums, no naps, the highs and lows have had me exhausted. I'm glad to see a light at the end of the tunnel as she's calmed down this past week and become her sweet self again. What a relief that it isn't permanent!

Here's a quick kabob recipe for you. It's a great meal that can be prepared the day before and is good with coconut rice or lentils.

Sticky Kabobs:
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 package baby bella mushrooms
1 package grape tomatoes
1 can pineapple or fresh if possible
1brown onion
2 chicken breasts

Marinade:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup gf soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
12 bamboo skewer
Soak skewers in water for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. Chop chicken, onion, and peppers into large bite sized pieces. Whisk marinade ingredients together in a large bowl and add all ingredients to bowl. stir until coated. Cover and let it marinade in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. String onto wet skewers approximately 2 pieces of meat and try to get at least one piece of the rest of the veggies on as well. Cook on grill about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Mr. F was feeling sick so I cooked them in the broiler for 15 minutes and they were still delicious.