Bottomless Banana Bread Day

I woke up this morning with plans in mind for the perfect day which consisted of sleeping in, a clean house, laundry done, a lunch date with a friend, and the day off work. I had a little extra time to kill along with some over ripe bananas and we all know what that leads to, right? BANANA BREAD!!  I got out my Grandpa Wassmers recipe and Emma and I began to mix. We got the bread into the oven and soon the house was filled with that ever so  familiar smell that always brings back memories. Then the moment came......the buzzer went off and we took the bread out of the oven. It was the perfect loaf, just like my perfect day. It was a beautiful golden brown and just the right height in the pan.With Emma looking on begging for a peice,  I carefully slid the knife around the sides to loosen it up, flipped it upsidown and suddenly.....PLOP.  The bottom of the bread was stuck to the pan while the rest of the bread flipped out onto the cooling rack. I let out a huge "NOOOO" !!!  How in the world could this happen? Just then the phone rang with some bad news. A few other not so great things began to happen. There my bottomless bread sat on the counter becoming a bad omen for things to come. I decided that I would throw the bread into the garbage but first needed to deal with some of the drama that had suddenly come my way. As I was tackling a few of the problems, my eye caught a glimps of the bread. I realized that it looked really moist and decided to cut into  it despite its imperfection. I sliced off a peice for Emma and one for myself and we found ourselves sitting side by side on the couch enjoying one of the moistest, tastiest peices of banana bread EVER!!! It was heaven. What a shame it would have been had I thrown the bottomless bread away never to be enjoyed for its imperfect perfection. It was then that I realized that this imperfect - perfect loaf of bottomless bread is much like my day. I made a choice to give the bread a chance...to look past the drama and enjoy what lies underneath. I let out a big sigh and looked over at my imperfect - perfect daughter and my imperfect - perfect self and my imperfect - perfect day and  realized that some times, when things get tough, there is always a peice of  bottomless bread waiting to make things a little brighter.  You just have to cut that first slice and enjoy.  Happy Bottomless Banana Bread Day!!!

Wake up those feet.....Its Springtime!!!

Its that time of year again when we put away the socks and break out the flip flops and sandals.  Spring pedicures are a must!!  This year I thought I would try my own version of the pedi and began searching for the perfect soak "recipe".  I found this one in Woman's Health Magazine and thought it sounded good so I gave it a try....LOVED IT!!!  I had to run to the store for a few of the items needed to make the soak but it was well worth it. My feet are ready for sunshine and sand. Here is what you need....

Don't cheat yourself out of the foot soak just because you're doing your pedi at home. This step does more than clean your feet and make you feel amazing. It also softens dead skin cells in preparation for exfoliation.
As you let a tub fill with warm water, remove all traces of old polish. Add to the water a teaspoon of tea tree oil (to banish stinky bacteria), a capful of witch hazel (to cleanse and tone), a half cup of Epsom salts (to rejuvenate), and three drops of peppermint or rosemary oil (to heal and freshen). Soak your feet for five to 10 minutes. I put about three bags of marbles into the bottom of the soak too. Rub your feet over the marbles or small rocks for a nice little massage. After about ten minutes, take your feet out and file away the dead skin.

Also, a brown sugar rub is a great alternative to the expensive scrubs at the salon.
Take some brown sugar, add enough olive oil to make a paste. You can also break open a few vitamin E capsules and add it to the paste. Add about 20 drops of your favorite essential oil.  Place a small amount of the sugar in the palm of your hand and rub into your feet. Rinse off in the shower.  And here is the best part ladies ( and maybe a few men too, who knows!!) top off your pedi by rubbing a good quality foot lotion on after for super softness.  You might even have someone else (you choose) do this part for you for the ultimate foot rub.
Add your favorite polish and slip into those sandal!

Fried Pickles....Are You Serious?

I recently went to the Texas Road House and was reminded again at how tasty fried pickles are. Gross, you say? Not so....just wait till you try one, or two ,or three, ok ten! Our family first learned about fried pickles while living in Texas where pickles are a religion. Not only will you find fried pickles but also pickle pops, pickle snow cones, pickle ice cream, and just plain old cold crispy giant sized pickes on a stick. Any of these are perfect on a hot summer Texas day. So, Darin and I decided to channel our inner Texan and whip up some good yummy fried pickles.  Here is what you do. Use about 2 cups of pickle chips. Make a flour mixture of 2 cups flour, 1tsp salt, 1tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp black pepper. Mix that all together. Take your pickle and dip it in buttermilk. Then dip it in the flour, then back in the buttermilk then back in the flour. Drop into oil that has been heated to about 350 degrees. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the pickles start to float. Remove and dip them in your favorite dressing. We use chipotle mayo. Its so delish!!